Naruto The Toymaker
by Lucius Walker
Summary: Beaten, starved, abused, Naruto weakly crawls towards his home. His head pounded from pain, he loses his way, and instead finds a hidden door with a red spiral in an alleyway. Stunned, he sought shelter in there, and discovers a hidden workshop. There, he inherits the Toymaker's legacy, a man who sought to make the Shinobi World pay for their sins with his creations...
1. C1 - Where It All Began

Naruto was weak. Not just from hunger, but from the pain from his wounds, and from the wounds themselves.

It was his birthday. Oct 10. The one day where a child should be happy, and pampered with gifts and the love from his/her friends and family. Instead, Naruto was beaten. Again.

He never understood why. Perhaps it was his pranks? But then again, all he wanted was attention.

 _Looks like I received it_ , He thought, still crawling weakly. The ANBU had come to save him, but he knew that they didn't like him either. Why didn't he know before? Well, even he lacked an answer for that. Let's just say that he suddenly felt...awake. As if he was in a semi-coma, and he was forced out of it.

Then the memories came. Oh, the bitter, painful memories. Of more hatred, pain, and suffering that he went through. He was even crucified! Pins shoved into his head!

He soon came to realize that even "Gramps," the Third Hokage, couldn't be trusted. After all, he basically let this happen. He knew that he had to bring justice to him. But not yet.

 _And maybe never,_ He thought miserably. _Oh, what can I do?_

He decided to hide behind a trashcan, taking care to cover his blonde hair with a trash bag in some sort of attempt to camouflage in the dark. He also took care to lose his orange jumpsuit, and in the end, he was almost naked, clothed with only torn trashbags.

He winced as his hand brushed over a still healing wound.

This healing ability is turning out to be more of a curse than a blessing. He thought. After a minute of trying to stop the bleeding, he had to lean on the wall to balance himself.

And the next thing he knew, he fell through the wall.

* * *

When he finally came to, he was in a dimly lit room.

"Where am I?" He wondered out loud. Gingerly standing up, he slowly walked around. He passed many rooms, with nothing but strange tools, benches, machinery, etc. But no people.

 _Perhaps that's for the best._ He thought. _No one to hurt me._

Eventually, he found a room with a bed. It was dusty, but at least it was safe. Before he decided to sleep, he wished to explore the room for a bit. His eyes came upon a desk, with a strange looking brass lamp lighting the desk up.

Almost as if inviting me, Naruto thought, noticing how like a spotlight, the light shone directly on a book. Limping towards it, he read the title: The Autobiography of the Toymaker.


	2. C2 - 4 Years Later

(First of all, thank you to all you just read, subscribed, reviewed, and followed after reading the first chapter. Second of all, I think I forgot to mention this, but this story was inspired by scarface101's The Dollmaker.)

Mizuki, a white haired former Konoha Academy teacher, woke up with a groan. His head spinning, he had a hard time adjusting to his dizziness. When his senses finally came to, he noticed many things.

1: He has tied up onto a table.

2: He was in what looked like a workshop.

3: The room was dimly lit.

4: He was nude.

5: He was not alone.

"Good morning, _sensei_." A sarcastic, familiar voice seemingly echoed in his head. Mizuki shook it, before his senses returned to normal.

"Naruto?" He said, surprised. "What's going on?"

"Playing dumb, or did the drugs harm your brain cells?" The blonde kid asked. The tone of his voice gave off seriousness and harshness, which startled the adult.

xxx

 **(4 hours previous)**

Mizuki was ecstatic. Not only he was going to leave this stupid village to give the Forbidden Scroll to his master Orochimaru (so that he could gain power), but he was going to kill the Demon Brat too!

And to think that the dumbass got it for me too! He almost shouted out loud. Quickly checking to see if he got all of his things, he left his house.

…

As scheduled, the blonde Demon Kid was sitting behind an old, abandoned shed.

"Alright, Mizuki-sensei! I learned something from the scroll!" Naruto shouted. Mizuki had to hold back a smirk as he approached him.

"Good job, kiddo!" He gave a fake smile. "Now all you have to do is give the scroll to me, and I give you a headband!"

"Okay!" Naruto said, raising the scroll.

Mizuki was enchanted by the scroll. Finally! The power was now his! And now Orochimaru will now make him more powerful!

He was so amazed at the thick scroll that he never noticed another person behind him. He also never noticed the said person shoving a needle into his throat.

...

When Mizuki came to, he was in a cramped room. With horror, he realized that the plan had gone awry, and he was now in prison!

He was about to scream in fury, when a masked figure appeared in the cell door. The figure placed down a bag, before leaving. Curious, Mizuki opened the bag to find a note and a key. The note read:

 _I understand the plan went awry. While you disappointed me, you have proved to be a loyal servant and thus, I shall grant you a chance. Meet me at the Cafeteria. Don't worry, I've made sure personally that there'll be no one there._

 _-Orochimaru_

…

I think I'm blessed, Mizuki thought giddily. He leapt behind a pillar to escape a beam of light from a night guard. He let out a breath when the said guard left, and he continued on to the eating room.

Here I am, Mizuki thought, standing in front of the two metal doors with the sign that read, "Cafeteria." With that, he pushed open the door.

Once again, he never saw the needle jabbing into his neck.

xxx

 **(Now)**

"Aaand that's what happened." Naruto said. "Well, Mizuki,"

He walked closer to the man. He struggled to get free, but for some reason, he was paralyzed!

Naruto stopped for a moment to push a small, metal table that was revealed to have sharp tools.

"I never did expect you to be a traitor to Konoha. Until I read the note from Orochimaru," He pulled out a small paper, waving it mockingly. "I thought you were just another hater of mine. Well, life grants you many surprises."

He plucked a pencil and a drawing pad, and began to scribble on it.

"You expected to kill the 'Demon Brat', steal the Forbidden Scroll, and sell your soul to the Devil for easy power. Instead, the blame's rightfully all on you, I learned and copied the secrets of the scroll, learned some pretty interesting info, and now, you're going to die."

"Master, your lunch is ready." A soft, dreamy voice came from the doorway.

Naruto stopped in his rant, and immediately began to calm down.

"Ah, thank you Doll." He said. "I see you've prepared cucumber sandwiches with jasmine tea again. My favorite."

"It is my pleasure, Master."

"W-wait." Mizuki stammered. "Who the hell is she? What the hell is she?"

Naruto raised his hand to let him know that his mouth was full. He finally swallowed his bite, before clearing his throat.

"Ah, I suppose it's customary to introduce my guests to my family members. Mizuki, meet Doll. She is my second successful Automaton Doll creation. She is my faithful maid, who assists me in this chaotic life I live in. Doll, meet Mizuki."

"Hello, dear." Her angelic voice seemed to echo in his head. "It is … pleasant to meet you. I'm sorry we had to meet this way. But please, do not worry. Through trials and errors, my master has found a way to painlessly transform you into a doll if he desired."

Fear was the only thing that remained on his face.

"No, please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything I've said. I promise, I'll, I'll make it up to you in any way that I can-"

"Doll."

The said Automaton walked over to Mizuki, pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, and wrapped his mouth with it, gagging his terrified cries.

"Please, do not be afraid. You'll get a chance to redeem your sins soon enough - just not with your current memories."

She rubbed his head in an effort to calm him down, while Naruto pulled out a syringe, filling it with drugs.

"I promise you, everything will be alright." Was the last thing he heard, before a syringe was inserted into his throat.

* * *

Naruto woke up to the sound of a train whistle howl at him. With experience, he pushed the button that stopped the noise. Blinking, he looked at the silenced alarm clock.

6:30 AM

"I suppose I should get up." He said, stretching. Boy, last night's project was tiring!

He walked down the hallway after getting dressed.

"Good morning, master." A newly "hired" white-haired butler said, bowing to him. Naruto looked at his newest creation in admiration. Now dressed in a white tuxedo, with a purple vest underneath, and with a silver rapier by his side, the once Mizuki was now gone, transformed into Ash Landers, a faithful butler to Naruto.

"Good morning to you, Ash." Naruto smiled back. "Is my breakfast ready?"

"I do not disappoint."

"Good." Naruto said.

…

Naruto wiped his mouth with a napkin as he looked at his unfinished creation. While lacking 25% of it's parts, it was clearly a box. But it wasn't just any box. It was composed of many moving parts, both on the inside and the outside. It even had a music box inside, which should play whenever the box is activated.

Sighing, Naruto put down the unfinished box. He checked the time, and he realized that he should leave for school.

"I will be taking my leave." He said out loud, before doing just that.

Just as he left, another figure stepped into the kitchen. The said figure was Ash. He picked up the partially-finished gold and black box, sighing.

"I was warned of young master's messiness." He sighed. Then his purple eyes landed on a forgotten lunch box. "Oh dear, he even forgot to take his lunch with him. Oh well, I suppose I should have Clone deliver it to him, since I have my first assignment to accomplish anyways."

* * *

"Hey, Iruka-sensei." He said, waving sheepishly. Iruka looked like he was ready to yell at him for being late, but then closed his mouth, since he remembered how Naruto took down a traitor of Konoha, and thus, decided to give him a pass.

"Hey sensei, how come he's still here!" A random kid shouted.

"Well, long story short, he helped us arrest Mizuki, which was a traitor to Konoha, and for that, the Hokage let him pass."

The class were stunned. Most of them didn't actually believe this, but they weren't willing to question it, so they shrugged it off.

"By the way, this actually brings me to another thing." Iruka said. "Apparently, Mizuki has broken out of prison last night. Due to this, team assignment will be delayed for a few more days until the situation can be made clear. Don't worry, there are plenty of ANBU guards everywhere, so as long as you stay in well lit areas and with others, you should be fine."

…

Annoyingly, they still had to attend class as usual, so Naruto didn't get a few days of vacation. Another thing that was annoying was the fact that he left his lunch at his workshop.

"U-um, Naruto." A familiar, somewhat timid voice said next to him. He turned to his left to see Hinata Hyuga, with a bento box in his hands. "I noticed that you don't have any lunch. I, um, was wondering if you wanted some of mine?"

Naruto, in response, pulled out a squeaky hammer, and lightly whacked her head with it. She eeped, almost dropping her lunch.

"Come now Hinata. There's no need to be shy! Come on, say that again, with more confidence!"

Hinata faltered, before her face turned more serious.

"Naruto. I noticed that you don't have any lunch, so would you like to have some of mine?"

Naruto smiled at this.

"There you go! I don't you that you could be more confident!"

Normally Hinata would've fainted at this, but thanks to Naruto, she was well past that phase … mostly.

"And actually, my lunch would be arriving soon. Thank you though."

"What do you mean by that?"

As if God himself wanted to answer that, the door slid open, and in stepped a beautiful, green haired woman. She wore a steampunk, orange, blue, and white dress, with a corset outside of it. But that most remarkable thing about her was that she had a wind-up key stuck on the back of her head!

"Naruto, you left you lunch at home, silly."

"Sorry Clone." He said, scratching the back of his head. "Thanks for bringing it here for me."

She smacked him lightly on the head.

"I told you to call me mother."

Needless to say, the entire class, Iruka included, was shocked at this.

"Excuse me, but who - or what - are you?"

She gave him a curtsy.

"I am Clone, Naruto's first successful Automaton Doll."

Iruka blinked at that, before his eyes widened.

"W-wait. Did you say you were a doll?"

"Correct."

"By doll, you mean the same one the legendary 'Toymaker' was going to create."

"Correct."

"...excuse me while I go get the Hokage."

And with that, he left.

Naruto bit into his apple. He looked stoic, but on the inside, he was grinning.

 _That's Step One for the Grand Plan._ He thought. _Now onto Step Two…_

Right on cue, the Hokage with two ANBU guards walked into the classroom. Even though they didn't show it, everyone knew that they were surprised at Clone's appearance. The said doll frowned a little when she smelled tobacco from the old man.

"...so who talks first? I talk first? You talk first?" Naruto asked.

"...where did she come from?"

"Made her. Very difficult. My greatest achievement. Love her to death. Vice versa."

"Can you tell us how she works?"

Naruto pretended to think about it, then shook his head no.

"That's classified information, and even if I wanted to, it would be quite complicated."

"How did you make her?"

"Refer back to my previous answer."

"How many have you made?"

"Is that an important question?"

The Third Hokage sighed. Looks like he'll get nowhere asking questions.

"How much does it cost?"

Naruto sighed at this.

"First of all, she. Second of all, she's not for sale."

"Why not?" The Third Hokage said, with a hint of anger.

"She's my precious doll. On top of that, she's the closest thing to a mother I have right now. And third of all, if you attempt to cut her open, she may explode, due to what I powered her up with."

Everyone backed up when he hinted that she's a walking bomb.

"But Naruto. Can't you at least give us the technology? With your techniques, this village could-"

"First of all, _Gramps_ ," He said with a surprising amount of malice. "Why should I just hand over my technology? What exactly has this village done for me? And furthermore,"

Naruto then walked to the Hokage, until he was face to face with the elder man. He leaned his head forward to whisper into his ear.

"I-REMEMBER-EVERYTHING."

His eyes widened.

"Oh yes, even when you ordered a Memory Seal for every time the villagers and some ninja attacked me. And by the way, did you know that the same person used a 'Retardation Seal' too?"

The Third Hokage was in shock. And now in worry. What was Naruto going to do now?

Naruto backed off, until he was next to Clone's side.

"Now, that's not to say that I won't share my technology. BUT-"

Naruto grinned.

"There will be MANY conditions. Then again, I suppose we should discuss this somewhere else, yes?"

* * *

 **(Side Note)**

Doll - Bloodborne

Clone - Atelier Escha & Logy

Ash Landers - Black Butler

Unfinished Golden Box - ?


	3. C3 - Business and Team Assembly

Sarutobi Hiruzen, like many of the ninja in Konoha, had skeletons in his closet. He's done many things he's not proud of, and in the same time things that he couldn't care much about. But now, as he was doing business with Naruto, he felt like the skeletons were in danger of being discovered.

He just hoped that the Council, both Civilian and Ninja, wouldn't screw this up.

"For one, I won't _just_ give you all of my technology and knowledge. I have to see if this village is worthy and responsible enough for it. Furthermore, I intend to give just this for the time being."

A few ninja and civilian officials murmured angrily about this, but was otherwise smart enough to keep their mouths shut. Besides, they were wondering what he meant by "this."

Naruto pulled out a small tablet. He tapped on it a few times, before placing it on the table. An orange hologram appeared over it, stunning everyone but himself and Clone. The humanoid figure that he showed looked like it was made from giant pieces of rusted metal, combined with gears. The strangest part, though, was the fact that its 'right arm' looked like a thin cannon.

"This, my friends, is my latest creation. Now, this being is from the series I like to call, 'The Ancient Gears'. And this, is an Ancient Gear Soldier."

The hologram grew in size, until it was easily as big as Iruka.

"Completely obedient to their masters, made of 100% metal, it would take about 10 Explosive Tags to destroy this thing. Observe."

He 'tapped' on a 'button' in the hologram, and a box popped up next to the Ancient Gear Soldier. When everyone leaned a little closer, they realized that it was a video recording, similar to their current technology. The video quality was much more cleaner though.

[Video Recording Start]

"Hello, AGS-01." Naruto said in the video. "Can you hear me?"

 **"Yes."** The machine rumbled.

"What is your mission?"

 **"To serve my master, Naruto Uzumaki, aka The Toymaker, in any way, no matter what the cost."**

No one noticed this, but Danzo grinned a little.

"AGS-01, I will be conducting a few tests on you to see if you're completely operational." Naruto said. "The final one will involve me finding out how durable are you. Do you accept this mission."

 **"Gladly."**

If it wasn't for his many years of experience, Danzo would've trembled with excitement.

Back to the video, many targets popped out in the back of the room. Some were simple round, red, striped targets. Some were cutouts of ninjas. Some were moving.

"Neutralize those targets."

Without a word, AGS-01 pulled a handle on his machine gun, and fired at the targets.

Everyone, even admittedly Hiruzen, jumped at the sound of gunfire. Their shock turned into amazement as the robot shot each target with deadly accuracy. Sure, he missed some, but all of the targets - save for one - had a hole in it.

The robot suddenly made clicking noises. It gazed at the magazine, and just then, the lone target began moving towards the robot. Without warning, it pulled back the handle on the rifle, yanked out the empty magazine, tossed it at the target, then plucked another one from the floor. It locked-and-loaded, then lifted it's gun, and shot the target's head clean off, making it stop moving.

"Good work, AGS-01!" Naruto praised. While the said robot didn't exactly have a face, everyone knew that it would've smiled if it could.

"Now regrettably," Naruto sighed. "I must conduct a test to see how durable you are."

Naruto then pulled out a small box, which revealed dozens of explosive tags attached to kunai.

"I will throw these Explosive Tags at you. However, you may reject this mission if you wish. On the other hand, if you decide to accept, then I may never have to do this again with another Ancient Gear. I leave it to you."

The moment Naruto ended his sentence, the machine nodded.

 **"I will participate in this test."** The machine said. The machine gun was lowered, and it stood perfectly still, willing to die for its master. The single glowing eye simply stared at its father, which didn't make it any easier for The Toymaker.

"...very well."

With regret on his face, Naruto then pulled out what looked like a metal crossbow. Naruto placed one of the Explosive Tagged Kunai on it. He aimed it at the machine, and with some hesitation, fired.

BOOM!

The video flashed white, and the noise startled the civilians. When the light was cleared, it revealed AGS-01 still standing. It seemed to have been forced back a few inches, but besides the dent on its chest, it looked fine.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

When it was finally over, it showed the once magnificent machine now in pieces. Some parts were broken beyond repair. Some were smoldering. The machine's head though, seemed to still be alive, as the blue glow was still active.

 **"Mission...accomplished."** It rumbled, before the glow finally died. The video then ended.

[Video Recording End]

When the ninjas and civilians looked away from the screen, they noticed that Clone was comforting Naruto, who looked upset. Some of the ninjas couldn't help but pity both AGS-01 and Naruto.

"Well," Naruto said with a shaky breath. It took a few seconds, but his smile returned. "Now that demonstrations are over, can we talk business?"

* * *

In the end, Naruto and the Council formed an agreement: The village would not only give everything that was Naruto's inheritance, but they would also help pay for a factory and a new workshop. In exchange, he would make them their Ancient Gear products and soldiers, and also would teach them how to program them.

Also, the Council would have to formally apologize for covering up the existence of the Uzumaki Clan. As part of the punishment, they had to confess to the public about the Uzumaki Clan, their sacrifice to Konoha, and why they covered up their existence in the first place. And finally, they had to restore the Uzumakis as a clan in Konoha.

Needless to say, word of this branched out throughout the ninja world. This especially got the attention of the Fire Daimyo really quickly. Excited, he hurried over to Konoha himself to meet this 'Toymaker.'

 **(2 Days Before The Team Assembling Test)**

Being the legendary Toymaker and the last member of the Uzumaki Clan made Naruto REALLY popular. Then again, maybe they were just trying to kiss up just to make up for their cruelty. Whatever it was, Naruto didn't mind the new attention.

Then there was this girl named Tenten.

Anyone that even remotely knew her knew that she was a weapon lover. She trained with every weapon she could get her hands on, and if the rumors are true, she had this supposed killer move involving a crap ton of weapons.

Anyways, this girl one day came running to his workshop while Naruto was working on his latest project (he finished his cube long ago).

"Hi Naruto!"

Barely hiding his surprise, he looked up from his project to greet the double bun-haired girl. Kinda reminded him of a panda.

"Hello Tenten." He said cooly, without much emotion. "What do you need from me?"

"Well, I was wondering, if…" Tenten said a little shyly. "If I could have that cannon-thing on that Gear thingamajig?"

"Ancient Gear Soldier, and they're called machine guns." Naruto corrected. "And unfortunately, I am still producing them, so you'll have to come back some other time."

Just then, the door opened. To both of their surprise, the Fire Daimyo himself with two samurai guards walked through the doorway.

While Tenten was bowing and giving her respects, Naruto simply regarded him as another customer.

"Two days ago, about 20 of my men retired." The Daimyo said. "Now while I can hire and train more samurai, in the same time I could not help but wonder if I could get a few of your creations to help protect me and my family."

"Very well then. Allow me to bring up a list of the few Ancient Gear types that you could pick from."

While he looked for that said list, Doll walked in the room with an Ancient Gear. Only this one was a little different from the one that the Council described. It was more light green and slender than AGS and had appendages on its back.

"Excuse me Toymaker." The Daimyo said. "Is that a 'doll' and another Ancient Gear?"

Naruto looked at Doll and the Ancient Gear, who was carrying supplies and other things in a box.

"Ah, yes they are. That doll happens to be like a maid of a sort. And by the way, that Ancient Gear is AGE-21, or Ancient Gear Engineer. As implied from the name, they are engineers of all kinds, especially mechanical. Capable of detecting traps and dismantling them in no time, making and disabling seals, and capable of repairing and operating other Ancient Gear machinery. Oh, and they aren't as defenseless as you may think…"

Naruto ordered a demonstration from the Ancient Gear, and it put down the box. Its hands immediately began to reconfigure, until the left hand was transformed into a large drill, while the other into a shovel. The said shovel and drill began to shapeshift into other tools, and eventually, a medium sized blade and a pistol.

When Naruto looked back at the leader of the Fire Country, Naruto could tell that he was growing very interested in the Ancient Gear. As a matter of fact, the Fire Daimyo ordered 10 Ancient Gear Soldiers, 5 Ancient Gear Engineers, 5 Ancient Gears, and 1 Ancient Gear Beast on the spot. His next order though, was also interesting.

"I wish to order a doll for my wife."

"Excuse me?" Naruto said, looking up from his notebook.

"You heard me correctly. I wish to give a beautiful, everlasting, loyal maid to my wife and my children."

Naruto thought about this for a moment, before nodding. Turning to another page in his notebook, he began to ask for details of the doll.

 **(The Day of the Team Assembly)**

"Um, I hope we get placed in the same team." Hinata said.

Naruto looked up from his sketchbook. He smiled at her, before tapping his squeaky hammer on her head.

"I do too." He said, smiling.

"Attention, everyone!" Iruka shouted, quieting the class. "Starting from today, all of you are real ninjas. You are still, however, rookie 'Genin.' The hard part has just started."

Iruka cleared his throat, before resuming.

"You will soon be assigned duties by the village. So today we will be creating the 3 man teams, and each team will have a Jonin-sensei."

 _Hm, basic 4 people squad._ Naruto thought, before continuing to sketch.

 _I hope to be with Sasuke-kun._ Many fangirls thought.

 _I hope I can be with Naruto._ Hinata thought.

 _Troublesome._ Shikamaru thought.

 _Hn, more people to be in my way._ Sasuke Uchiha thought.

"Now, to balance the team's strength, we placed certain people within certain teams."

He then read off the team list.

"Team 1, you will be with … consisted of …, Team 7, you will be with Kakashi Hatake, consisted of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sakura let out a cheer, while Naruto barely reacted to this. He did close his book to look at Hinata, which gave him a slightly sad look. He gave a thumbs up to reassure her. Still, admittedly, it was painful to watch her go with her own team.

xxx

It was a good thing that he had a mentor for his meditation, since his new sensei was 2 HOURS LATE!

Seeing as he had nothing better to do, he pulled out a scroll, and unsealed what looked a triangular, metal pyramid with intricate details.

Now Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but ever since Naruto quickly rose to fame with the status as The Toymaker, The Last Uzumaki, and the maker of the new army he's constructing for the village, he grew interesting and envious of him. And now he seemed to be working on a small project, to which he also grew interested in.

…

After what seemed like forever, Kakashi Hatake walked into the nearly empty classroom.

"My first impression of you guys is … boring."

They had no comment for that, although they all wanted to yell at him for being late.

"Meet me at the rooftop." Was all he said, before disappearing. They all sweatdropped at this, before getting up to meet their strange new sensei.

* * *

 **(Author's Note):**

Clone - Atelier Escha & Logy

Doll - Bloodborne

Ancient Gear - Yugioh

Ash Landers - Black Butler

Golden Box - ?

(I appreciate all of you for reading, reviewing, and following. I would appreciate more comments too! .)


	4. C4 - The Bell Test

"So let's start off with getting to know each other." Kakashi said. He glanced at Naruto, who was currently cleaning his goggles with a handkerchief. The said boy gave him a seemingly blank stare, making him flinch a little. Before guilt can flood his conscious, he cleared his throat, before resuming his small speech.

"Okay, let's start off with a few introductions."

"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked.

"Mmm, how about likes, dislikes, goals for the future, things like that?"

"If that was the case," Naruto's surprisingly cold voice broke the awkward atmosphere. "Then shouldn't you start with yourself?"

"Ah, alright. Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. And dreams...I have a lot of goals."

 _So all we learned was his name._ They all thought.

"Alright, blondie. You first."

The said blonde looked at him, before tipping his top hat.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. The only things I like are my creations, as well as nature, and the small friends I have. I dislike ignorant people, arrogant people, and the cycle of hatred."

The last part make Kakashi's eyes drop a little, since he too, have tasted the bitterness of hatred, especially from the Third Shinobi World War.

"My goals, or goal, I suppose, is to end the cycle of hatred with my Grand Plan."

A moment of silence. Then…

"Well, alright. I suppose we know a bit about you." Kakashi said slowly. "Alright, broody."

"...my name is Sasuke Uchiha." The dark haired boy said. "There are tons of things I dislike, and a few things I like. I don't want to use the word 'dream', but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan, and…"

He looked up at Kakashi, determination in his dark eyes.

"To kill a certain man."

 _He's so cool_. Sakura thought.

 _As I suspected._ Kakashi figured.

 _...did I leave the fireplace on?_ Naruto wondered.

"Alright, pinky."

Sakura cleared her throat, before she began.

"My name is Sakura Haruno." She began, unknowingly earning a small glance from Naruto. "The thing...er, person I like is…" She looked at Sasuke, who didn't even spare her a glance. "...well, my dreams for the future...OH MY!" She blushed.

"...and my dislike is Naruto!"

The said boy was sketching in his notebook.

"Well, that's enough of that." Kakashi said. "We'll start our duties tomorrow. First, we're going to do something with just the four of us."

He expected questions, but only got curious looks.

"Tomorrow, we will be doing some survival training." Kakashi continued. This got everyone's attention, even Naruto's, as his pencil stopped moving.

"Why is our duty survival training?" Sasuke asked.

"We already did that at the academy." Sakura added.

Kakashi chuckled.

"Oh, this won't be any normal training. Instead," His face suddenly had an ominous look. "This would be a training that would eliminate all but 9 graduates, with a failure rate of 66%!"

The genin trio frowned at the odds.

"Bring all of your tools for tomorrow. Read every detail on his paper." Kakashi handed them a slip of paper, which gave all of the details of the test. "Oh, and don't eat any breakfast. You'll throw it all up by the end of the test."

...

The Toymaker touched the golden square on his door. Seals flashed around the building for a second, before letting him in.

"I'm home everyone."

"Greetings, master." Doll bowed. "Your materials for your new project has arrived."

"Thank you Doll. Did you receive any word from Ash?"

In response, she handed him a large Holotransceiver, which was a prototype communication system the size of a dinner plate and looked like a really complicated CD player. It took a rather long time for Naruto to make, and he's still testing the gadget. She pushed a button, and out came out a life-sized, orange hologram recording of Ash Landers.

"Greetings, young master. So far, I have traveled through The Land of the Rivers and The Land of the Wind to further spread the word of your new business. The Daimyos there are already forming deals, although due to the failing economy, they aren't buying as much as you hope so."

Naruto frowned at that. Obviously he had to rectify that issue, otherwise his "Grand Plan" might not go so well.

"Try to see if they have any resources in their land. Perhaps we could offer them a "loan", where they can borrow a few of my machines to harvest in order to improve their income."

Ash nodded, before signing off.

Naruto sighed, taking off his forehead protector. Staring at his reflection, he grinned.

"Well, it looks like I get to test some of my new toys in battle."

xxx

 **(The Next Day)**

Naruto was glad that he brought his umbrella, since it helped block the sunlight. Again, he was grateful for the meditation lessons, because here he was, in his black boots, dark-blue pants, white shirt with a dull orange vest, his thick, dark blue overcoat, and his black top hat with goggles on them. Two hours went by, and he was considering going home to change into something lighter, when the gray haired man _finally_ decided to arrive.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura shouted, causing Kakashi to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

After giving a bullshit explanation of why he was late, he pulled out an alarm clock. He walked over to the three tree stumps, and adjusted it on the middle one.

"This clock is set to noon." Kakashi said. He then pulled out two small, silver bells from his pocket. He grabbed it by the strings, letting it dingle to focus their attention.

"Here are two bells. Your task is to take these bells from me before the time's up. Those who don't have a bell by noon will be tied to a stump, and will receive no lunch."

 _Explains why he told us not to eat lunch._ Sasuke and Sakura realized, their stomachs growling. Realizing that Naruto's stomach wasn't growling, they looked at him with question.

"Let's just say that it's good to have a caring stepmother." He smiled. His small smile faded when he remembered what happened to Sasuke.

Kakashi cleared his throat to dissipate the awkward atmosphere.

"Anyways, you only have to have one bell. In other words, one of you will definitely be tied to the stump. And…"

Kakashi looked at them challengingly.

"The one who doesn't get the bell will be sent back to the academy."

The three genins flashed each other a look of competitiveness. No way THEY would be sent back to the academy.

"You may use any weapons or tools if you wish." Kakashi said. "If you want even a chance at success, you will come to be with an intent to kill."

As soon as he said those words, he knew he was in trouble, due to the slightly insane look on Naruto's face.

"Ready...set..begin!"

The three genin disappeared in a flash of brown and gold, blue, and red.

…

Kakashi Hatake stood still on the open field, waiting patiently for his potential students to make their move.

 _Nice...they're all hidden well._ Kakashi thought. Of course, if he actually tried, he could find them easily, but since this is a genin test, he had to go easy on them. Well, maybe just Sakura anyways.

He kicked a pebble, becoming bored. His mind began to return to Naruto, the once innocent, loud boy that he knew. Then in one day, his bright, pompous expression turned dark and bitter. He remembered how he had to check if it was even Naruto he was protecting from a distance, and physically, yes, it was Naruto. But in there, he wasn't so sure anymore. He grew more quiet, restrained, and otherwise the flip side of his usual, energetic self.

Not that the teachers minded. From the conversations he picked up, they seemed happy enough that the "demon brat" was finally shutting up. Of course, he wished to enforce the law about Naruto on the spot, but since it was technically in a private area, and all the teachers knew about his...condition anyways, there was nothing he could do.

Then the disappearances happened. One by one, villagers, some politicians, merchants, even some children, began to disappear. Items, goods, metals, were stolen, as well as scrolls and books. Of course, the villagers linked this to Naruto, and admittedly, even he suspected the young blonde, but since there was no evidence, they couldn't convict him for the mysteries. Besides, the ANBU checked his house three times, only to find nothing.

Naruto himself became an enigma. Whenever questioned about his new behaviour, he simply said that he "woke up into reality," and that he was "tired of being treated as a brat." They left it at that, since again, they really couldn't do much, in worries of breaking the boy's trust. Still, the ANBU followed him, but they would always lose him at a certain point. It wasn't just in one spot either. One day he wanders into a store and doesn't come out, only to be found at Ichiraku Ramen. The next day, he stays behind at school, only to disappear for a while, to reappear at his apartment. Puzzled, they could never find out the mystery of it. Even after Naruto's heritage as the "Toymaker" has been revealed, he never explained the mysteries, and this time the Council wasn't willing to poke at it, seeing as how it could chase him away.

…

 _Where could Sasuke be?_ Sakura worried as she dashed through the trees, looking for the last Uchiha. Despite him being the Rookie Genin, Kakashi was ranked a Jounin for a reason, and wished to see if he was okay. She landed quietly on a thick branch to look through an opening through the dense leaves. There was Kakashi! But no sign of Sasuke so far.

"Sakura, behind you." Kakashi said behind her. She turned around in shock and fear to see the Jounin directly behind her.

...

Kakashi's train of thoughts came to a halt as he heard a loud, high pitched scream.

That scream. Sasuke thought.

"Shinobi Fighting Lesson #2, Genjutsu." Kakashi said outloud. "Sakura easily fell for it."

"...I'm not the same as them." Sasuke said, aware that Kakashi was behind him, reading an orange book.

"Say that after you get the bells." He replied lazily.

Sasuke turned around to face his potential teacher.

"...the village's most powerful clan, the Uchiha Clan." Kakashi said. "This could be interesting…"

They looked at each other for a moment, before Sasuke dug into his weapon holders, and flung some shurikens, forcing Kakashi to dodge.

…

Sakura was woken by someone nudging her.

"Time to arise, Sakura." A familiar voice drawled out. Sakura blinked, and she realized that Naruto was squatting a foot away from her. She also noticed that her throat hurt like hell.

"Seriously, I thought you out of all the genins could've snapped out of that simple genjutsu."

She looked away from him, slightly annoyed.

Naruto offered her a hand. "...look, I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't take a genius to know that we can't beat him alone. So I'm going to cut to the chase - we need to work together."

She slapped away his hand.

"He just caught me off guard, that's all! Besides, Sasuke won't need your help! You're the deadlast, and even you're the 'Toymaker', that's all you'll probably know how to do!"

And with that, she left, but not before shoving him out of the way, knocking off his top hat.

Naruto did not fail to notice the look of contempt in her eyes, suggesting that her parents probably spread the "Anti-Naruto propaganda" to her as well.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. He picked up his hat, and dusted it off.

"Fine, looks like I'll do this myself." And with that, he walked over to the tree on his left. He kicked off the dead bush, revealing a trapdoor. He opened the said trapdoor, and disappeared below.

…

Kakashi was impressed at Sasuke's fighting level. His traps, his taijutsu was much better than the average genin. And to think that he almost swiped the bells too…

"Well, I'll say this. You're definitely different from the other too from what I've seen so far…"

Instead of replying, Sasuke began to flip through multiple hand seals, before he leaned back to perform a jutsu.

What? A genin should've have enough chakra to perform a jutsu! Kakashi's eyes widened.

"FIRESTYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!"

A giant wave of flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth, engulfing Kakashi Hatake. The flames eventually died out, only to reveal nothing!

Where is he? Sasuke thought, panic beginning to seep into his mind. He looked around.

Right? No, left? Above?

KABOOM!

Sasuke barely managed to dodge the explosion underneath him. Gunpowder, dust, dirt, and earth, rained down on Sasuke as he stumbled, stunned, ears ringing from the blast, and what came out of the ground. In that split second of the explosion, he saw Kakashi's slightly burnt body with what looked like an orange colored, armored person delivering a punch to Kakashi.

Kakashi's body rocketed to the ground, and bounced painfully off of it. The orange assassin then drew out a ninjato, aiming to end his life. Kakashi only managed to dodge the blade by leaping to the side, and so the sword only pierced the ground.

Naruto Uzumaki chuckled behind his t-visored helmet. He stood, showing his orange and black armor. It was nothing Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke has ever seen. On his back, a sniper rifle was slung, along with two sheaths with one ninjato in one of them.

On his left leg was what looked a metal rod, and on the right was a pistol holster. His helmet covered his entire head, and, like the rest of the armor, was also orange and black. His T-Visor allowed no outside eyes to see into Naruto's, but everyone knew that his eyes were on Kakashi.

What was the most peculiar, however, was what was on his back. First glance, it looked like a backpack, but metallic, as well as two tubes coming from the bottom, and a spear like object coming out of the top.

"It appears the game is over before it even begins." Naruto's deepened voice drawled out, pointing his sword at the jounin. He began to circle the white haired man, which in turn, began to circle Naruto.

Kakashi in response pulled out his tanto. It appeared to be a regular, mini katana, until he swung it a few times, emitting a bright, white light.

"Say that after you beat me." He replied back. He then held his weapon in a stance, ready for one hell of a fight.

"The White Light Chakra Sabre." Naruto said, looking at the mini sword. "Ah yes, the same blade you inherited from your disgraced father, aka The White Fang of Konoha."

"The very same."

They both stopped moving for a good minute, before they charged at each other. Both letting out their war cries, they swung their blades at each other, each impact on metal to metal creating sparks. After one last attack, they leaped back from each other, panting slightly.

Naruto then pulled out what looked like to small, black tube with a trigger. He quickly yanked the pin, before flinging it to the ground towards Kakashi. Expecting it to explode, he jumped back within what he assumed to be a safe distance. What he didn't expect was it to explode into a flash of bright, white light, blinding him and screwing with his hearing.

Disoriented, he barely managed to block Naruto's vicious round of assaults with his tanto. He wasn't so lucky with the punch, followed by a kick to his ribs. His single eye widened as Naruto's ninjato grew uncomfortably close to his face. He managed to leap back in time as the blade flashed in front of his face.

Kakashi's grip on his sword tightened as he prepared to counter whatever else Naruto decided to throw at him. They both stared at each other, before Naruto chuckled. To everyone's surprise, he sheathed his sword, before walking away.

"My my Naruto. Are you walking away now? You still haven't gotten the...bells."

Kakashi faltered as he suddenly realized that he was missing his bells. He then felt something falling off of his head, and he realized that it was his forehead protector. Naruto had managed to cut his headband protector through the area where his Sharingan laid hidden.

Kakashi heard the dinging of bells as Naruto tossed his two bells at Sasuke and Sakura.

"So, do we pass?"

"We?" Sakura and Sasuke asked.

Kakashi had to overcome his shock to replace his forehead protector and to explain the true meaning of the test.

* * *

The Third Hokage sat lazily, going over which team passed with the Jonin.

"Team 1, passed."

"Team 2, failed."

"Team 3, passed."

"...I don't want to talk about it."

"Team 5, barely passed."

"TEAM GUY PASSED WITH ETERNAL FLAMES OF YOUTH!"

"...thank you for that, Gai." Sarutobi said, recovering from the sudden burst of enthusiasm. "Now, Team 7?"

They all expected Kakashi to say that his team failed. Instead, he remained silent for a while.

"...it's going to be a long story." He finally said.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he stripped himself of his new armor. He tossed his helmet at AGS-01, who caught it.

"So how did your new upgrades go, master?"

"Went well, actually." He smiled at his rebuilt friend. "I just need to fix a few things with the T-Visor. It still has a problem with processing fast moving events. Plus, the jetpack didn't even activate for some reason."

"Master, perhaps you should replace your helmet with a simple one that covers and protects your face. After all, being 'cool' doesn't always strike fear into your enemies."

The Toymaker rolled his eyes at that, just as Clone and Doll walked through the door.

"Naruto, remember your appointment with the Fire Daimyo."

His eyes widening slightly, he discarded his last armor, told Doll to take care of them, and quickly changed into his usual outfit.

With a simple beckoning of his finger, two Ancient Gear Engineers followed him, and helped him carry a white coffin.

…

The Fire Daimyo paced anxiously, waiting for his deliver.

"Pardon my tardiness, my lord. Your delivery is complete." The Toymaker said, turning his head to the white coffin.

"Excellent!" He said excitedly. "Open it!"

The two Ancient Gear Engineers pushed a few buttons, and the coffin opened itself with a hiss of white steam. When the lid finally opened, there revealed a beautiful, white haired maid. Her still, sleeping face radiated so much beauty, that the Fire Daimyo and his samurai guards thought that she was an angel from heaven.

Her eyes began to open, revealing two purple irises. Slowly, she got up, and walked towards the Fire Daimyo.

"Greetings, master. My name is Angela Blanc. I am here to serve you."

The Fire Daimyo couldn't respond, due to being high with excitement. If Angela and Naruto also noticed the hint of lust in his eyes, they didn't show it.

* * *

 **(Later that evening)**

Sarutobi Hiruzen smoked his pipe, thinking about Naruto's new technology.

"If this keeps up, that boy might become too dangerous to handle." Danzo said, earning nods from Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Hiruzen himself.

"Indeed." Homura sighed. "His technology and knowledge would be a useful asset to Konoha, but how can we keep him under our thumbs?"

"Perhaps we don't need to." Koharu added. "Maybe we can obtain a piece of his technology and try to find out his secrets."

"Knowing him," Hiruzen said. "He would be prepared for that kind of situation, and while I have no proof of this, it would be safe to assume that he has a good knowledge of seals. I'm no seal expert, but the ones I've managed to catch Naruto using, especially on the machines, are high level."

The four, old veterans thought about this.

"What concerns me the most," Danzo finally said. "Is his continuous claim of him having a 'Grand Plan' that would ensure world peace. Then, there is his mass production of his mechanical soldiers, and his evolving technology. While he did allow us to program our army to follow our orders, I'm still can't help but wonder if he has a plan that would take us by surprise."

"Knowing the de-the boy," Homura almost slipped up, but no one seemed to care. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did inherit that cunningness from our prisoner. We must keep a very close watch on him."

Hiruzen sighed.

"If only we had a trump card against him…"

A couple of bangs made by a wooden cane brought their attention to Danzo.

"Actually, I can help you with that." He smirked, pulling out a steampunk tablet. He tapped on the screen a few times, before showing it to his old friends, to which their eyes widened.

"Her death would've been a waste, so I had to keep her alive. Unfortunately, she has advanced seals on her preventing us from possibly obtaining her bloodline. Fortunately for us …"

His eyes seemed to gleam with triumph.

"We have a trump card."

* * *

 **(Author's Note):**

Clone - Atelier Escha & Logy

Doll - Bloodborne

Ancient Gear - Yugioh

Ash Landers - Black Butler

Angela Blanc - Black Butler

Golden Box - ?

Naruto's Armor:  art/Deathstroke-the-Mandalorian-415032481


	5. C5 - Protecting the BridgeBuilder

"What's the distance to the target?" Kakashi asked over his tactical earpiece (made by The Toymaker.) He listened to the near-silent noise of the small gears moving, before Sasuke replied.

"Five meters. I'm ready."

"I see the target. I'm ready too." Sakura's voice whispered.

KRZAP! MEOW!

They were all surprised by the sound of electricity crackling, and by the loud shrieking of a cat. They checked back at their target to find Naruto standing over a still cat with a taser rifle slung over his shoulder. Tipping his top hat, he bagged the knocked out cat, before walking towards the Merchant's Guild.

…

"OH MY CUTE TORA-CHAN!" Madam Shijmi, the Fire Daimyo's overweight wife, yelled, nearly squeezing the poor cat that Naruto just caught to death.

 _Perhaps I should apologize to the cat the next time I see it._ The said Toymaker wondered, only now realizing why the cat always ran away. He glanced at Angela, who stood by Madam Shijmi, and smiled at her, in which she smiled back.

The Third Hokage cleared his throat to gather Naruto and his team's attention.

"Uh, let's see. Team 7's next assignment is to babysit an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging." He said, looking at what's basically a To-Do list for genins.

"If I may," Naruto spoke up. "I believe it is time for me and my team to move onto more challenging missions. We have done enough of the village's chores, after all."

 _Gotta admit, he's got a point._ Sasuke thought.

 _...I guess it was about time this happened._ Kakashi sighed internally.

The Third Hokage thought about this, before digging through a file, pulling out a piece of paper.

"Well, I suppose your team is ready for a C-Ranked mission. It's an escort mission of a certain individual."

 _I won't lie, I hope the person's a princess or something._ Naruto thought. He was disappointed with the sight of a semi-short, drunken, old man staggering into the room, reeking of alcohol.

"What's this?" The old man said gruffly. "They're all just a (hic), bunch of stupid brats." He then looked at Naruto and his strange, steampunk outfit. "Especially the one with the kooky outfit. Are you really a ninja?"

"When I'm not busy making toys." He replied cooly, earning a chuckle.

"Alright, listen up! I am the super bridge builder, Tazuna!" The old man introduced himself. "I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge!"

 _...what's with him and the word "super?"_ They all wondered.

* * *

Kakashi gave the team 45 minutes to prepare. In the meantime, he told Naruto to stay behind so that he could talk to him.

"Naruto, what did I say about working with your team?" He asked sternly. Naruto looked at him with boredom, which angered Kakashi a little.

"To work together as a team, and to not try to do the job yourself."

"Correct." Kakashi nodded. "So why is it that you refuse to work with your teammates?"

"Perhaps it's because they don't wish to work with each other and I. Come now, Kakashi," The Toymaker continued before he could get interrupted. "Sakura flat out loathes me because of her parent's 'Anti-Naruto' propaganda, Sasuke thinks he's better than anyone else and I suspect is jealous of me, and me, well, I actually tried to work with them on the bell test, only to get rejected immediately."

The Toymaker stopped to take a breath while Kakashi processed his answer.

"So tell me, Kakashi, is it really ME you should be lecturing, or those two foolish children?"

"Now now, Naruto," Kakashi said, surprised at his arrogant tone. "You need to remember that you're still a child yourself."

The Toymaker scoffed, walking towards his house.

"The moment I earned my forehead protector was the day that I stopped being a child. Besides," He looked back at Kakashi right in the eye. "After what I've been through, I'm not sure if I can ever BE a child again."

And with that, the Toymaker returned to his home, which was a block away from his workshop. Kakashi stared at the young man sadly, before turning away.

...

Naruto was double checking his "Survival Scroll", which contained sealed objects he will need on his mission, when his Holotransceiver beeped on his desk. He walked over to it to answer Ash's call.

"Greetings, master." The albino butler bowed. "I have continued to spread word of your existence throughout the Elemental Nations, and have made it to the Land of the Stone, Land of the Earth, and the Land of the Rain."

"Tell me good news."

The butler frowned at that, and Naruto just realized that Ash was under an umbrella, which would explain all the splashing, background noises.

"Unfortunately, the Land of the Stone is mostly consisted of small, poor villages with thieves and murderers running around. The Land of the Earth simply didn't want any part of Konoha, and as for the Land of the Rain…"

He glanced back, as if checking if someone was after him.

"I fear that there is a great source of power living in this village. So great that I hesitate to enter it."

The Toymaker frowned.

"How great are we talking?"

"Your level." Ash Landers replied. Ash was about to say something else, but then his eyes widened, before the hologram disappeared, although not before Naruto heard a shout, and the ground crunching under some godly force.

Naruto pushed a button to try to communicate with Ash, only to find no luck.

"...this could be a problem."

* * *

Naruto was the last to arrive at the gates. Humming a tune and swinging a black cane he fondly named, _Edison's Cane_ , with a golden light bulb on the top, he passed by his team and Tazuna.

"Shall we go then?" He asked, and Tazuna grunted, before he lead the way. Almost instantly Naruto and his team surrounded Tazuna, ready to protect him from thieves and whatever minor threats they might bump into.

If they looked at the trees behind them, they would've noticed two ninjas with clawed gauntlets and gas masks, looking at the old man.

...

At some point, they passed by a puddle, which triggered red flags for the Toymaker and Kakashi.

It hasn't rained in awhile, so why the hell is there a puddle...ohhhhh. Naruto thought. With a sigh, he pushed a button on his cane, and aimed it at the puddle.

KRZZT!

The cane fired a taser bullet at the puddle. Just before it hit it, a man "grew" out of the puddle, and collapsed nearby. A second later, the "puddle" exploded into clouds, revealing a twitching, gas masked man. The other gas masked man groaned. When Naruto shot the "puddle" with his taser bullet, one of the Mist ninja tried to undo the jutsu, but since he was connected to his brother by a shuriken chain, the electricity hit him, and while not as strongly, it was still enough to stun Gōzu. His brother Meizu on the other hand wasn't so lucky. He took the full shock, and was thus left into a twitching mess.

"Dear assassins." Naruto said, swinging his cane nonchalantly. "I believe that we need to talk." He then pointed his cane at Gōzu, and shot him with another shock bullet.

…

When Gōzu and Meizu, two defected chūnins from Kirigakure, came to, they were tied to a tree with some ropes. They also saw the same blonde boy with the funny outfit, along with the old man they were supposed to kill and the rest of the escorts.

The said blonde boy was drinking tea and eating a biscuit on a small, red table.

"Hello gentlemen. Enjoyed your nap I presume?"

"Go to hell." Meizu groaned, still recovering from the nasty shock.

"Now now," Naruto tsked. "Must we be rude here? Perhaps that little trip to Wonderland was...unpleasant. But then again, you were going to kill an old man trying to bring positive change to his dying nation."

The said man scratched his neck awkwardly, still ashamed at the fact that he lied about the mission, and had to admit it while the two ninjas were out.

"I would prefer if we could give each other what we want, and that we could walk away from this without spilling blood."

The two assassin's smirked at that.

"Look, punk." Meizu scoffed. "You're just a costume-brat that's trying to play ninja with us. If you really know how this goes, it always ends in blood."

"Does it have to?" Naruto sighed. He put down his tea to dig out a golden coin. "Look, how about this? I give you this coin, and your freedom, and you go run off to your boss, without killing Tazuna mind you, and in exchange…"

The Toymaker stood up, and walked over the table. He hopped off of it, and landed directly in front of the bound assassins. He leaned over closer to the brothers, just in between their heads, and said: "Tell them that Deathstroke the Terminator wants a rematch."

Gōzu and Meizu's eyes widened at that, and suddenly they understood who they just talked to.

"W-we'll do it." They said shakily, surprising everyone else except the Toymaker.

"Excellent." Naruto said cheerfully. With a swift flick, he cut the ropes with a kunai, earning a yelp from Tazuna. Instantly Kakashi and his team prepared to defend their client. Instead of preparing to fight, as expected, Naruto simply tossed them the coin, with Gōzu caught. They looked at it, then at the Toymaker, then at Tazuna, before bolting, leaving behind a satisfied Toymaker, a stunned Gēnin team, and a scared shitless client.

Finally, Kakashi sighed, not even attempting to become angry.

"What's going on, Naruto?"

The Toymaker grinned, before giving his explanation.

* * *

 **(Nearby in a secret base)**

"YOU'VE FAILED?" A tuxedo-clad midget shouted with puffy, brown hair. "I spent a lot of money to hire you because I heard you were all skilled ninjas!"

In response Zabuza Momochi, aka the Demon of the Hidden Mist, lifted his mighty broadsword, and pointed at Gatō, the founder of the Gatō Company. He gulped, staring at the missing-nin from Kirigakure.

"Quit your bitching." He said through his bandages. "I'll go with my sword and kill them myself." He glanced at the two demon brothers, who couldn't look at their boss.

"Besides, I've got a rematch to attend." He grinned under his bandages. He got off of his bed, and kicked open the door. He made a beckoning motion, and a masked ninja walked past Gatō and his bodyguard, surprising the two.

* * *

"It's rather hard to see in this mist, is it not?" The Toymaker asked the man rowing their boat.

"Yeah, well, I've been on this river for so long that I can navigate it with my eyes closed." He grinned. "I'm glad that my skill can finally come to a good use."

Everyone sat in silence on the boat, until a huge, unfinished bridge came into view.

"Impressive, Tazuna." Naruto commented. "I'm a Toymaker, but even I have to admire this."

"Heh, it's one of my greatest achievements." The old man grinned. Then his cheerful mood dampened a little. "I just hope that I can finish it fast enough."

Again, silence took over the boat. After going under a tunnel, they finally reached a shabby port. Its condition was so horrible that Naruto was honestly surprised that it held in one piece when he jumped on it.

"This is it for me." The man on the boat said. "Good bye and good luck."

Tazuna thanked the man, then moved on with his escorts. They walked in the eerie silence though a forest, listening to an occasional breeze and crickets.

All of a sudden, Naruto pulled out his pistol and fired at a bush.

BANG!

The sudden noise startled the group, as well as a group of birds.

"Naruto, what the hell was that for?!" Sakura yelled, and the Toymaker had to dodge a punch aimed at his head. Kakashi in the meantime went to the bush to check for a body, only to find a white rabbit scared shitless.

"That was just a rabbit? How could you almost kill a rabbit?!" Sakura screeched, and Naruto had to fight the temptation to waste a bullet on her.

 _Hmm, that's a snow rabbit._ Kakashi thought. _But what's up with the color? It's Spring, so by all means it should be brown, unless it's kept in a cage for substitution._

His eyes suddenly widened as he heard whistling in the air.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!" He shouted, and they all hit the dirt. The Toymaker, however, simply stood his ground as the deadly blade flew towards him.

Time seemed to slow down for Naruto as he waited calmly for the blade. *As it was about to bisect the blonde teen, he slapped Kubikiribōchō up with his left palm. He turned his body right, then, with his hands, grabbed the flat part of the blade, and with the skills of an Uzumaki Blademaster, diverted the blade so that instead of cutting him into two, he stuck it into the ground to his left.*

"...I see you've received my invitation, Zabuza." Naruto finally said. A chuckle came out of the woods, and Zabuza Momochi hopped out of the trees, which made Kakashi's eyes widen slightly, despite being warned ahead of time.

"How could I deny this chance to fight you again?" He said. He rolled his head, popping his neck. "If you excuse me, I'd like my sword back."

Sakura was about to say something, but a look from both the Toymaker and Zabuza said otherwise. With a grin, Naruto yanked Kubikiribōchō from the ground, and flung it to its owner. The said owner caught it by the handle.

"Well, you ready?"

Naruto grinned, before he crossed his arms in an "X" position. He pierced his thumbs with his canines, before swiping them across his chest in an "X". Seals flashed across his body, before he was engulfed in a flash of smoke. When the smoke disappeared, Deathstroke the Terminator stepped into battle. In his hand was a silver blade. This time, though, it wasn't hisninjato. Instead, it was a sword with a triangular blade, with sharply cut holes in the middle. It also had a long strip of metal that seemed to curl around the blade, and into the handle, resembling a gust of wind.

Zabuza whistled at the sight of the sword.

"Nice sword. Who made it?"

Deathstroke grinned under his t-visored helmet. He walked closer to his opponent, and began to circle him.

"A craftsman enjoys the complements of their masterpieces."

"I see…"

The two swordsmen circled each other some more.

"Before we begin our fight, let us reintroduce ourselves." The Toymaker said. He held up his sword in front of his face, before bowing.

"I am Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, the Toymaker, and the creator of a thousand machines. This sword,"

Naruto then pointed his weapon at Zabuza. "Is named Ribbon, the bane of thunder and lightning, the shredder of the earth, and the friend and foe of fire."

Zabuza swung his sword around, before stabbing it into the ground, his head following the tip to bow in the same respect.

"I am Zabuza Momochi. I am a missing-nin of Kirigakure, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, a Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. I am the ender of the Death Matches, the slayer of a hundred children, and a wandering warrior. This sword,"

Zabuza yanked his sword from the ground, and pointed it at Naruto effortlessly.

"Is Kubikiribōchō, the legendary blade of Kirigakure. It is the nightmare of an army of cowards, blood drinker, and decapitator. And you will not escape me the second time."

Naruto grinned under his helmet, before entering the Ko Gasumi stance.

"Let us see who is the greater warrior."

They stood still for a minute. A gust of wind blew past them, carrying a leaf with it. The wind died as quickly as it came, and the leaf spiraled downwards onto the dry ground. The moment it hit the floor, both swordsmen charged at each other, determined to walk out of the battle victorious.

With the clash of blades, the battle has begun.

* * *

 **(Author's Note):**

Clone - Atelier Escha & Logy

Doll - Bloodborne

Ancient Gear - Yugioh

Ash Landers - Black Butler

Angela Blanc - Black Butler

Golden Box - ?

Ribbon - Infinity Blade 3

Naruto's Armor:  art/Deathstroke-the-Mandalorian-415032481


	6. C6 - Clash of Swordsmen (Wave Day 1)

While Deathstroke and Zabuza were clashing blades, Sakura couldn't help but ask Kakashi what the heck was the flashy intro about.

"This, Sakura," Kakashi said, pointing at the two swordsmen, "Is a battle between two warriors. Some people, especially members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, follow this code, that when challenged to a one and one battle, that no members of either side must interfere, and in doing so, it disgraces the warrior him/herself. Declining this offer marks you as a coward, and unworthy of whatever title you might possess."

"Wait." Sasuke said. "You just said that no one on _either side_ could interfere, right?"

Kakashi nodded.

"So does that mean that he might have allies closeby?"

"Possibly. If there is, then he or she or even they must be incredible skilled for me to not be able to detect them."

At this Sakura and Sasuke grew worried. They kept their guard up, although admittedly they were mostly focused on the fight.

…

Zabuza began to chuckle as he had to block another strike from Ribbon. When he looked at Kubikiribōchō, he noticed that once again, it had 5 scratches on it, one of them actually cutting through his sword.

"I see why you call your sword Ribbon, the bane of thunder and lightning." His chuckles began to grow.

"I thought I made it quite obvious that it uses wind-chakra." Deathstroke said. "Not only it produces it's own wind-chakra, but," He leapt back to take a chakra-enhanced swing at his opponent, and a wave of deadly wind-chakra flew at him. Zabuza had to hit the ground to avoid damaging his sword and himself. The trees behind him weren't so lucky, and he fully understood the meaning of "being cut to ribbons."

 _So damn glad that wasn't me._ He thought, watching as the poor trees began to fall apart, piece by piece. His ninja senses blaring, he leapt backwards prevent his head from getting shish-ka-bobbed by Ribbon.

It could've been just him, but he could've sworn that the dirt stabbed by Ribbon formed a whirlpool pattern.

"My my, Zabuza." The young blonde chuckled, his voice sounding deeper and sardonic under his helmet. "Getting slow, are we now?"

Zabuza grinned under his mask, bloodlust slowly leaking out of his body.

"Not by a long shot." He growled, before jumping onto a tree stump, launching himself towards the orange assassin. The said assassin leapt forward, ready to deflect another strike.

Zabuza grinned harder, before he changed the direction of the sword. Instead of the initial downward curve, he quickly swung his blade in a U turn, forcing Deathstroke to again, divert his blade to counter Zabuza's. With another, "PING", the swords crossed each other again. Once again, Kubikiribōchō earned five more scratches, the third one cutting his sword.

In that split second the two swords met each other, the two mercenaries met eyes with each other. Blue eyes met brown ones behind a visor. In that split second, they stared at each other's souls through the colored windows, and understood one thing: They both suffered hardships.

Then that second was over, and the two warriors jumped back from each other. They stared at each other for a moment, before both of them let out a chuckle.

They stopped chuckling abruptly, before they both waved through handsigns.

"WATER STYLE: LIQUID BULLET JUTSU!" Zabuza roared. A condensed ball of water shot out of Zabuza's mouth, flying with deadly speed at Deathstroke.

Naruto simply pointed Ribbon downwards, inserted a little chakra into it, and stabbed it into the ground, and the ground shot up to block the shot. His eyes widened when his helmet amplified the sound of running feet.

He leapt backwards just in time to avoid a downward slash from the big sword.

"WATER STYLE: LIQUID BULLET JUTSU!" Zabuza fired another water bullet at Deathstroke, forcing him to jump to the left...and into the lake.

 _I got you!_ Zabuza thought wildly. He jumped onto the water, then began to flip through handsigns.

 _Shit!_ Kakashi thought. _I got to step in at this point!_

He was about to create a shadow clone, when Deathstroke yelled, "Interfere, and you die, Kakashi!" To Kakashi's surprise, Naruto was standing on the water! Clearly, he was more trained than he had assumed.

Zabuza flashed Kakashi a look promising pain, before he turned his eyes back onto his opponent.

"WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON BULLET JUTSU!"

With a roar, an enormous dragon made of chakra fueled water rose out of the lake. It charged at the orange assassin, just as he pulled out something from one of his pouches. He tossed the said object at the dragon's mouth, before leaping high into the air.

BOOM! KRRTZZZZ!

Zabuza yelled in pain as his dragon exploded from Deathstroke's Tesla Grenade. The explosion not only blew up his jutsu, but it also unleashed a crap-ton of electricity everywhere! And since he was standing on water, he took the full hit of the electric blast.

Red filled his eyes as rage began to consume him. No! He will not lose again! With a roar, he charged at Deathstroke, aiming to take off his head with a horizontal swing.

Deathstroke jumped backwards, but knew he wasn't going to make it in time. Zabuza's sudden burst of strength, killer intent, and speed took him off guard, and now he was about to get decapitated for his carelessness.

 _Wait a minute._ He thought, remembering that he still has his jetpack. He activated it in a nick of time, just as Kubikiribōchō was about to taste his blood. Thankfully, it ignited this time, telling him that it finally worked! It flew him backwards, which saved his life by a mere 3 seconds. Just as surprised as the Toymaker was for the jetpack's successful ignition, Zabuza faltered, causing him to sink into the water slightly. With a roar, Deathstroke flew towards Zabuza, his faithful sword ready to end the battle.

His eyes widening, Zabuza quickly spun around to get the chance to parry Ribbon. Imagine his surprise when Deathstroke pulled out a flashbang and blew it up in front of him.

"AAAH!" He screamed, his eyes blinded. His senses now shot to hell, he swung wildly around him, desperate to get away from him. His vision soon returned to him, but it was blurry and full of stars in front of him. Still, he was able to see Deathstroke flying at him, Ribbon raised, ready to take off his head.

Still stunned, he swung his sword weakly, only for it to be parried away. He could only watch as Deathstroke flew right into his face - and pushed him away with his left hand. He flew back a couple yards, bouncing back onto land. Skeptical at what just happened, he placed his hand on the spot where he touched him, and wondered how he got away unharmed.

 _BA-BUMP._

He suddenly realized that something warm was trickling down his hand. He looked down slowly to realized two things:

 **1.** The spot he touched him was his heart.

 **2.** He was bleeding in that spot. Meaning, he got stabbed.

He began to feel woozy, and it wasn't from whatever the damned assassin just threw at him. He was losing blood, as fast.

"Heh." He managed to say. "It's..not...over...ye-urk!"

Out of nowhere, senbons pierced him in the neck, stopping his words. He stood still for a moment, before he fell over. He twitched once more, before he laid still. Deathstroke activated his range-finder, scanning for vital signs to find none. Still, something was wrong…

He looked over to the tree to his left to find a Kirigakure Hunter-Nin staring at him.

"Thank you very much." The hunter-nin finally said. "I've been searching for this man for a very long time, and I've been waiting the perfect moment to kill him."

"That mask." Kakashi finally said. "You're a hunter-nin."

"Hunter-nin?" Sakura and Tazuna asked.

"Yes. My duty is to hunt down missing-nins." The hunter-nin explained. "I'm a member of Kirigakure's hunter-nin team."

"Then by all means, go ahead." Deathstroke said, stepping back. The hunter-nin nodded, before leaping to the body.

"By the way." Deathstroke said, earning a pause from the hunter-nin. "Interfere like that again, and you will suffer punishment from either me or your boss."

His team was confused by that, but the hunter-nin clearly wasn't, since he left pretty quickly with the "body."

"...what were you talking about Naruto?" Sakura finally asked. Deathstroke sighed, before he made a handsign. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, before he stepped out of the cloud, back into his casual attire.

He swung his cane a few times, before the Toymaker began to explain.

* * *

"So basically, Zabuza's not dead, but he won't be back for a while?" Tazuna asked nervously. The Toymaker nodded his head in confirmation.

"One week, if my calculations are correct."

Sakura, careful not to explode at him, asked him why he didn't finish both of them off.

"It was an official battle between two warriors. While he might've violated it, albeit unwillingly, I had no intention of following his example. To strike him down while he was crippled by an outside force would be disgraceful as a swordsmen."

"So you're willing to endanger us because of this so-called-code?" Sakura said accusingly.

"You have me and Kakashi, so you'll be fine." Naruto said in response. Sakura looked like she wanted to say and do more, but decided to quiet down, remembering just how he was able to go toe-to-toe with the A-Ranked ninja.

"This your house, Tazuna?" Kakashi pointed to a poorly built shack. The said shack looked rather cramped and fragile. It was rather interesting that whoever built the house did it on a port, instead of the land that it was right next to.

"Welcome to my home!" He said, grinning sheepishly. "It's not much, but, well, it's home!"

When they entered the small house, they were immediately greeted by a beautiful, blue haired woman with her hands on her hips.

"Where were you, father?" She demanded. "Do you have any idea how worried you made me?"

"Sorry honey." He chuckled. "I had to leave as soon as I could to try to get some help, and we finally got these ninjas to help us out!"

She sighed, before she greeted the ninjas.

"Thank you for coming all this way to help us." She bowed.

"Just doing our jobs." Kakashi said, giving his eye smile. Then his expression (or what little expression they could see anyways) turned serious.

"Naruto."

The Toymaker looked at Kakashi, his eyebrow raised. His hands, which was making a small object, paused in their tracks.

"I, well, have no idea how strong you are. I also have no idea just what you've been doing outside of this village. But, I do know that you're strong enough to take on Zabuza. So,"

He took a deep breath, no doubt sucking in his pride.

"Will you help me tra-"

"No." Naruto said, and went back into making something. Everyone blinked at his bluntness, before Kakashi tried again.

"Wait Naruto. Why not? I mean, with your training, we could make our team strong, and maybe even pass it down to other-"

"And tell me, why exactly should I pass on _my_ family's teachings and legacy?" Naruto gave his team the nastiest glare anyone could ever receive. "Isn't their _sacrifice_ more than enough? Or tell me, does my family have to give more?"

"It's not about that!" Kakashi shouted, surprising Tazuna, Sasuke, Sakura, Tsunami, and her son Inari, who just walked into the living room. The said young boy hid behind his mother's legs. "It's about keeping your comrades alive and working together!"

"That's rich, coming from you out of all peopl-"

WHAM!

In a millisecond, Kakashi grabbed Naruto, and pinned him to the wall, making it crack, much to Tazuna's displeasure.

"DON'T-YOU-EVER-BRING-THAT-UP-AGAIN!" He snarled, KI leaking into the air. Naruto noticed that his forehead protector wasn't covering his sharingan, and the said sharingan's tomoes were spinning.

Naruto simply stared into his eyes, unimpressed.

"I know, I let my teammates down once." Kakashi admitted after a moment of silence. "But I vowed after that day to never let it happen again. And I'm not going to stand here and let that happen again just because you were being selfish."

"Selfish?" Now it was Naruto's turn to be angry. "Selfish, am I? Well, fine, I guess I am selfish. Then again, why don't you go tell every other clan, including Sasuke, to share _their_ secret techniques? Or no, am _I_ the special case? Besides,"

Naruto's KI leaked out, which easily killed Kakashi's KI.

"You know damn well that I _deserve_ to be fucking selfish after all the shit I went through for your ungrateful village!" His twisted frown then turned into a sneer. "You know, out of all people, you should know the best of what happened to me. After all,"

He leaned in closer to Kakashi's ear.

"I know that you left your post and left me to burn on my third birthday to drink, _Inu-san_."

Kakashi's eyes widened as Naruto revealed that he knew about his mistake that night. His grip on Naruto's vest loosened immediately, and Naruto was able to get down on the ground.

"Or was it a mistake?" Naruto pondered out loud, as if he could predict his thoughts. "I'll leave you to that thought."

And with that, the Toymaker walked away, leaving a guilt-ridden Kakashi staring at the wall. Sasuke, Sakura, Tazuna, and Tsunami looked at the Toymaker, then at Kakashi, wondering what bad history they might've had with each other. As curious as they were, however, none were willing to ask either persons.

* * *

(A Secret Hideout Kinda Nearby…)

Gatō growled in frustration as he walked up the stairs, his bodyguards in front of him and behind him. The bodyguard in front of him opened the door to reveal an injured Zabuza on a bed, his pretty (but sadly a dude?) sidekick next to him, and the Demon Brothers on the opposite side of the bed.

"So even you have come back defeated." The midget crime lord said. "It looks like the Mist Ninjas are pretty pathetic."

Zabuza and his partners said nothing in return.

"You can't even avenge your own men. And you call yourself the devil? Don't make me laugh." The little man mocked.

Again, zero response.

Gatō's two bodyguards reached for their swords, but their boss stopped them. The man then walked to the bed himself.

"Hey. There's no reason to stay silent." Gatō then attempted to grab Zabuza's bandages, but was stopped by Zabuza's pretty (but sadly a dude?) partner.

"Don't touch Zabuza with your dirty hands." Haku Yuki growled. In response, Gatō's bodyguards rushed to defend him, but with lightning speed, Haku grabbed their swords, and pointed it at their throat - without moving from her spot.

"You shouldn't do that." She said, anger in her voice. "I'm angry right now."

Gatō and his bodyguards gulped, before the crime boss grunted.

"One more time! If you fail one more time, you won't be welcome here anymore! Remember that!"

And with that, he and his bodyguards left. Haku sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"...You didn't have to that." Zabuza said, putting down the kunai that was hidden under his blanket.

"I know." Haku smiled. If it weren't for his bandages, anyone could've seen Zabuza's frown almost melt into a smile. "But it's too early to kill Gatō. If we cause a commotion here, they'll be after us again. We must be patient."

Zabuza sighed.

"Yeah, you're right…"

* * *

Kakashi instructed Sasuke and Sakura to perform the Tree-Climbing Chakra Control exercise, something he honestly should've done a long time ago.

Naruto, in the meantime, had nothing better to do, so he decided to take a walk around the poverty-stricken village. As he was walking through the molding buildings, he noticed looks of bewilderment and and even resentment shot towards him.

 **"Probably cause they think you're showing off your wealth."** A dark voice boomed across his head.

 _Hey Kurama._ He thought back. _Finally decided to wake up from your nap?_

 **"Nothing really to do, you know."** The Nine-Tailed Fox let out a yawn that would've scared the boogeyman.

 _Hey, you know I can't just let you out, you know._ Naruto thought, while subduing another pickpocketer. _At least, not until after my Grand Plan._

 **"Seriously, you're still naming it, 'The Grand Plan?' Come on, be more creative."** Kurama rolled his slitted eyes.

 _If you're that bored, then think of a better name._ Naruto said. _Besides, why don't you just talk to my 'other friends?'_

 **"In case you've forgotten, THEY come to you, or YOU summon them."** Kurama growled. **"So just HURRY THE F-"**

Whatever he was going to say, Naruto wasn't able to hear it, since it appeared that he needed to take care of another thief. He turned around to find in his surprise a little, dirty-pink haired girl with her hands up, as if asking for something. He blinked a couple times, before he opened his satchel. He took out an apple, a few coins, and a few matches, and gave it to her. She thanked him, before she took off.

Naruto smiled back in her direction, before he approached a fisherman with an old straw hat. The said fisherman turned to an alley, which didn't deter the Toymaker at all.

"Excuse me sir?" He said. The fisherman looked at him with disgust, before sighing.

"Are ya here to buy a fish?" The smelly man asked. Naruto noticed that he was missing a few teeth.

"Depends on how good the answer is to my question."

"Shoot."

"Do you happen to know where the tyrant Gatō lives?"

At this question, the man's scowl grew even nastier.

"Ya here to do business with him?!" He growled angrily.

"Oh no, actually." Naruto shook his head. "I'm actually here to try to stop him, but I just need some informat-"

 _Splat._

The man spit on him.

"Take her rich ass outta here! Spoiled, rotten, lying scumbags who take everything fro-"

 _Schlink._

The man's eyes widened slightly, before it fell into a daze. Naruto realized that someone snuck up behind the fisherman, and inserted a syringe into his neck.

"There was no need for that, Cipher." The Toymaker sighed. "Even if he was being rather rude."

The fisherman was gently pushed to the wall, making him drop his bag of fish, to reveal a brown, ragged, cloaked man with seemingly wooden and leather armor. This man, though, wore a metal mask of a bird, with tubes connecting to gas filters and glowing, horizontal, lines of light behind the glass lenses. Glass vials and bottles, syringes with glowing liquids, and pouches hung from his leather belt, which gave others the correct assumption that he was a doctor.

"That's Dr. Cipherous to you, young man." The Doctor sniffed under his mask. "I didn't study the art of Alchemy, ancient medicine, and Medic-Jutsus just to be called Cipher."

"Yeesh, calm down, will you? It just easier to call you Cipher, alright?"

The doctor huffed, before he turned towards the dazed fisherman.

"Now, sir, I believe we have a few questions to ask…"

* * *

 **(Author's Note):**

Ancient Gear - _Yugioh_

Angela Blanc - _Black Butler_

Ash Landers - _Black Butler_

Clone - _Atelier Escha & Logy_

Doll - _Bloodborne_

Golden Box - ?

(Metal pyramid I mentioned at the end of Chapter 3) - ?

Ribbon - _Infinity Blade 3_

Tesla Grenade - _Warehouse 13_

Dr. Cipherous: art/Dr-Cipherous-Arcane-steampunk-plague-doctor-540223521

Naruto's Armor:  art/Deathstroke-the-Mandalorian-415032481


	7. C7 - Getting Into Gear (Wave Day 2-3)

**Getting Into Gear**

Naruto and Dr. Cipher made sure to tip the fisherman for his "cooperation" with some money and medicine, while taking what they felt like a fair amount of fish in return. The Toymaker _did_ promise the fisherman that he would buy some if he gave him a good answer.

"I must say, that's an impressive mansion." Dr Cipher commented on the mansion about 2 miles away from them. Two miles away from the semi dense forest they hid in, was an enormous mansion. The mansion was surrounded by stone walls, with an archer tower on each of the four corners of the walls. Inside of the walls was an impressive looking garden, which had patrols walking around it.

Then there was the actual house itself. Standing at an impressive 4 stories, the mansion stood proudly as it showed off its red, black, and tan colors. From the looks of it, it was freshly painted.

"All this money," The doctor sighed, as his "eyes" telescoped back into their sockets. "And he chooses to keep it all to himself, instead of helping the needy."

"I suppose that's human nature for you." The Toymaker sighed, putting down his binoculars. "Makes me wonder how people can be this twisted."

"Perhaps survival?" The Doctor offered. "Some believe that it's the survival of the fittest, so they do anything in order to make sure that they survive."

"The irony is that they might be still breathing," The Toymaker sighed. "But they not alive. They're dead inside."

The Doctor nodded at that. They sat in silence for a minute, just staring at the beautiful mansion. Somehow, though, it looked rather ugly to them.

"Well, I suppose you should get going." The Doctor said, pointing to the sky. The sun was setting, and his sister was coming out to shine her radiance in the sky.

"Good idea."

Naruto hopped down the tree, landing silently onto the soft ground. He turned to walk back to Tazuna's house. While walking, he pulled out a brass box with a windup key in it. He twisted it a few times, before whispering something to it. He then dropped it, then took out 5 more of the boxes from a scroll. By the time he left the boxes, they all reconfigurated themselves into mechanical mice, the windup key integrating into the steampunk rodents. The first mouse squeaked to the other mice, and they all nodded, before they headed towards the mansion.

…

Naruto knocked on the door, and to his displeasure, it was Kakashi who answered.

Naruto walked into the small house, followed by Dr. Cipher, which undoubtedly scared the living crap out of everyone. Naruto explained that he was a friend, and they helped each other many times, which put them at ease. It helped to know that he was a medic.

"I've just made dinner. Would you boys like some?" Tsunami asked.

"That would be delightful, thank you." The Toymaker said. The Doctor refused, saying that he already had ate. Still, he did join them at the dinner table. After giving her the fish, Naruto sat at a chair, and ate his dinner. It was a rather small amount, but given the current situation, he chose to eat slow, and not ask for more. Sasuke noticed this, and chose to follow his example. Sakura was already ahead of the game.

After he was done, he decided to look around. He then noticed a picture on the wall, but the said picture had someone's face ripped out of it.

"May I ask about this torn picture on the wall?" The Toymaker inquired. The already awkward atmosphere turned more awkward as the little kid Inari looked like he was ready to throw a tantrum.

"...he was my husband." Tsunami finally said, not turning away from the sink.

"And the man called the hero of the city." Tazuna finished, his expression gloomy as well.

The little kid Inari couldn't take it. He got up, and left the room, not saying a word.

"Inari? Where are you going?" His mother asked. Inari answered by entering a room, and slamming the door.

"Father! I told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!" Tsunami shouted at Tazuna, who could only look away.

"...what's wrong with Inari?" Sakura asked.

"There seems to be some kind of explanation." Kakashi added. Tazuna sighed, before he began to explain Inari's behavior. In a nutshell, there was a man named Kaiza, who was a father figure to Inari. He also happened to be the "hero of the city", since he dove into a raging river in order to close a dam.

Then when Gatō took over, Kaiza stood up to him, and as a result, got his arms cut off, and was executed publically.

"From that day, Inari changed." Tazuna sighed. "As well as Tsunami and the rest of the city."

"Hmm." Dr. Cipher rubbed his "chin." "Well, that was to be expected."

"Excuse me?" Tsunami and Tazuna asked, anger in their voice.

"Everyone put their trust and hopes on one man." The Doctor explained. "Which is why it all died the moment he did. You see,"

He dug into his pocket, and pulled out a chess piece. He set it down to reveal that it was the king.

"The game of chess ends when you capture the king. It doesn't matter how many pieces you've captured yourself. It doesn't even matter if you have all of your pieces. The moment your most important piece is captured," Dr. Cipher flicked the king, which fell over with a small, "thump."

"Game over."

Silence filled the air.

"The biggest mistake Kaiza made," Dr. Cipher said softly. "Was that he didn't make sure to pass on his bravery, his courage, his ideas. You see, a man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."

Dr. Cipherous picked up his king piece, then began to walk away.

"Of course, in order to enforce those ideas," The Toymaker added. "You need the muscles. Speaking of which,"

The Toymaker clasped his hands together, looking at Tazuna.

"How would you like to do business?"

…

As predicted, Tazuna was skeptical of Naruto's technology, until he showed him the hologram of his Ancient Gears. As if fate wanted to further prove the existence of this technology, they heard scratching at the door, which revealed to be the 5 metal mice. With a spare piece of paper, the mice drew out the layout of Gatō's mansion, what time they switch guards, and to the delight of Tazuna, where he kept his fortune and his passcode.

Then came the more dark and depressing part. The mice also revealed what times the slave trade was going to occur (which was surprisingly not very often), and where he kept his personal slaves. Didn't really take a genius to find out what he did with them, especially since they were mostly women.

"So what do you say, Tazuna?" The Toymaker asked. "Are you interested in my offer?"

Tazuna took a swig of sake, before looking over the contract.

"So basically, you build a factory in here to raise an army against Gatō, and for our future protection. You let us keep this factory and a part of your technology in return that whatever income we receive, we share 5% of it with you. That about right?"

"In a nutshell." Naruto nodded. "Don't forget about the part where you pay back the expenses for the factory and the soldiers after we take down Gatō."

Tazuna rubbed his beard in thought. He seemed to consider it, then looked at his daughter for her thought. She nodded, clearly interested with the idea. With that, Tazuna signed the contract.

Naruto took the contract, looked at the signature, then nodded. He put the contract down to pull out an odd device. That odd device hummed to life when he pushed a button, and the Holotransiever showed a hologram of Clone. This surprised Tazuna and Tsunami, since well, they've never seen an Automaton.

"Clone. I need you to send me 20 AGEs, 20 AGSs, and 10 AGDs (Ancient Gear Drill)."

She nodded, and the Holotransiever died out.

"Expect your delivery within tomorrow, and expect a factory within about two days. Expect an army in about four."

* * *

(Konoha)

Life was pretty quiet in Konoha. Well, except for the somewhat loud noise of the factory running. Now, that's not to say that life was "normal." Ancient Gear Soldiers now patrolled the village. This made it easier for more ninjas to go out and do missions.

The village walls were also fortified with spotlights and Ancient Gear Cannons. Let's not forget about the fact that the village itself was under some reconstruction. Buildings were moved to make room for Ancient Gears and Ancient Gear Tanks. Another factory was under construction around the South District.

The Academy was also undergoing major reconstruction. Classrooms expanded, an Ancient Gear Workshop was opened, and new technology was introduced, along with new classes. It was basically revolved around technology, so that they could repair the Ancient Gears, and learn about them so that they could get a job in the factory. Let's not forget about the new weapons: Guns. Of course, the future ninjas were thought to not heavily rely on them, but otherwise, they were taught how to use them, how to clean them, etc.

The once quiet village now turned more noisy. And more uncomfortable. The people now had to get used to the fact that machines were walking around the city, and they were incorruptible. This meant trouble for some of the civilians and ninjas, especially for the council. Curfew laws were much more strict, and whatever crime they got away with they had to now exercise more caution, or stop altogether. The worst part is that the Civilian Council had no authority over the machines. Just the Hokage.

Kurenai and Asuma winced as a civilian was thrown out his window. An Ancient Gear Police, which was basically a more skinnier version of the Ancient Gear Soldier, walked out the door, plucked a Stun Baton from it's belt, and asked the civilian once more to comply with the law, and he reluctantly agreed, not wanting to get hit, shot by a taser gun, or killed by a pistol. Turns out he was being charged for not paying taxes for about an year, and he actually attempted to bribe the Ancient Gear Police and a ANBU ninja. This might've worked if it was only the ANBU ninja, but now they had to deal unfeeling machines that knew only to enforce the law.

"You think the Ancient Gears was a good addition to this village?" Kurenai finally asked her somewhat-secret boyfriend. Asuma sighed, reaching for a cigarette, only to be stopped by the black-haired beauty.

"Honestly, I don't know." He said, pocketing his lighter. He and Kurenai watched the civilian get loaded up into a rectangular transportation device they called a "car." The newest addition to Konoha's technology. Admittedly, they were impressed like many others by this new technology. The problem was that it was also terrifying, and had many dangerous potentials. The moment the other villages hear about this, they're going to go nuts.

They were also concerned about the jobs. Some of the merchants/their customers were beginning to rely on the machines to do their jobs, whether it would be bodyguarding, or something simple as babysitting. Fortunately, the Hokage thought of a solution, and that was to rent the machines, which was a lot cheaper than buying one. This did reduce their job loss for now, but the thought still lingered.

"I don't know…"

They continued to walk together, greeting civilians, ninjas, and Ancient Gears along the way.

Suddenly, they heard some commotion going on. Reacting quickly, they moved to the scene of the racket.

It was the Toymaker's house. And the ground beneath it was shaking and moving!

"What the hell's going on?" Asuma asked an ANBU patrol. An Ancient Gear Police answered for him.

 **"Do not worry."** It told him with their deep, raspy voice. **"It is just our creator making a delivery."**

The ground slid open, and out came out a humongous machine. The machine was fat, yet long, and had 6, rotating blades on top of it. Underneath it contained two machine guns, and on the sides contained two missile launchers (Kurenai and Asuma learned quick when it came to the new weapons). What made them shudder was the fact that the identified helicopter had "spider legs", which gripped onto a metal box. A few seconds later, another helicopter of the same design came out with an identical metal box. Both flew in the same direction, scattering wind everywhere they went.

Everyone grew silent, until a few civilians went into an uproar about something, which the Police Force had to deal with. Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, a ninja with a mask stared at the scene. Without a word, he disappeared to report this to his master.

* * *

(Back in the Land of the Waves) - [The Next Morning]

Haku reached for the back of her head, and undid her bun. Immediately, her long, beautiful, black hair fell out. Making sure no one was there, she discarded her Mist-nin outfit, and put on a pink robe. Picking up a small basket, she headed outside, making sure to hide a new senbons and kunai in her pockets. She tugged on her black choker as she closed the door.

xxx

Inari watched the ninjas do their training. He shook his head, remembering his father figure getting killed. He then went back into his house to continue to sulk some more.

Within an hour, the ninjas eventually returned to the house to get their breakfast.

"Excuse me," Tsunami asked the Toymaker. "Where did the doctor go?"

"Oh, Cipher?" He said, looking up from the layout of Gatō's house. "He went out to find some ingredients for some medicine. He saw some sick people on the street, and decided to help them."

He went back to the layout, and they left it at that. Naruto couldn't ignore Inari's frustrated face on him, as if Inari wasn't giving up on his hopelessness.

xxx

Dr. Cipherous hummed a tune as he picked another herb from the ground, careful not to take the roots also.

"Slightly toxic root, pain relieving leaves." He muttered. He blinked, and his mask scanned the plant, confirming his knowledge. Satisfied, he put the herb into a small, brown bag, and continued to look for more herbs.

His senses and his mask suddenly detected someone in front of him. He looked up to see a beautiful, young woman wearing a pink robe. Even though she did her best to hide it, he still noticed her look of surprise when they made eye contact.

"Greetings, young one." He said. "What brings you into this lovely forest?"

"Ah, pardon me mister." The young woman bowed. "I was simply searching for some medicinal herbs like you are. You see, my father is injured, and I require some to help him get better."

"If that is the case, then may I accompany you?" Dr. Cipher asked. "Given Gatō's tyrannical rule, corruption plagues this nation. It is not safe for young women like you to roam the forest alone."

Haku nodded, and Dr. Cipher joined her side.

"By the way, I believe that herb has expired, and is no longer in good use."

Haku finally noticed this, and blushed at her mistake.

"Do not worry. That old herb would've just made your old man ill for a day. Here, have a newer one."

The doctor offered her a better one, which she accepted.

The two sat on the grass, looking for herbs to use for their medicine. Haku was slightly startled when the man lightly smacked himself on the forehead.

"Ah, pardon me miss." The masked man said. "It was rather rude of me to intrude on your business without introducing myself."

He cleared his throat, which made a strange echoing sound under the machinery.

"Hello, young lady. My name is Dr. Cipherous." The doctor introduced, extending a hand. "You may call me Dr. Cipher, or just Cipher. What is your name?"

"You may call me Haku." Haku smiled, shaking the doctor's hand. "And by the way, may I have that herb?"

Dr. Cipher looked down at the green and yellow herb he was holding, which had a small flower growing on it.

"Blood enhancing and energy rejuvenation." The doctor commented as he handed her the herb. "Your father must be very ill if you need this particular herb."

Haku nodded with genuine concern.

"May I ask what happened to him? I might have something that could help him get better quicker."

Haku hesitated, before she explained that her father was almost struck fatally in the neck, which caused him to go into a comatose state and caused some internal bleeding and semi-paralysis, as well as muscle fatigue.

Dr. Cipher rubbed his "chin", before he pulled out a scroll. Unsealing it, it revealed a chemistry set. He borrowed a few of the herbs, and pulled out some ingredients from other scrolls and pockets. Haku watched in fascination as the doctor worked his magic. With obvious years of experience, he effortlessly ground up herbs, fixed in a few ingredients with water, and began to boil the liquid in a distiller.

They watched as the liquid began to turn heavy, as well as turn the color red.

Finally, Haku had to break the silence.

"Tell me, good doctor, why did you decide to choose the field of medicine?"

Dr. Cipher made a few humming noises, before he turned to answer.

"I was born in an area of corruption." He said. "My parents perished in a fatal attack on my village. I was left alone, starving. The worst part was that no one was there to help me."

He fell into silence with Haku as he turned a knob on his equipment. Haku said nothing, remembering her own sad life.

"Homeless, helpless, I sought help from others. The problem was that the villagers were a superstitious lot. They saw me as a bad omen. A witch. A demon. A trickster. They wanted nothing to do with me, and would often drive me out of their stores and homes. Often times, it got violent."

The doctor touched his mask.

"I don't wish to get into details, but one day, their hostility grew worse. The fact that my village was receiving less sunlight than usual before harvest season didn't help either. One day, their violence escalated, and my face became...more unbearable to look at."

Haku cringed at the implication.

"After one day, I had enough. I fled the cursed village. I sought shelter in another place. Then, one day. I found the place."

Dr. Cipher paused his story to add another ingredient into the mixture.

"That place contained lost history. Lost practices. Lost technology. Lost knowledge. Knowledge so old, so forgotten, that they almost faded from existence. But one man, despite the war, despite time, despite everything, held on to history. Held on to the legacy of the past. It was there that I found my calling. I realized my destiny waited in that underground bunker. I realized this: If there was no one to depend on, then I must depend on myself. That day, I realized just how rotten this world really is. I realized,"

The doctor closed his eyes behind his mask.

"I realized, that someone had to fix this world, plagued with not illness, not disease, not viruses, but a much more deadly epidemic that haunts us since the creation of Adam and Eve."

Haku leaned in a little closer, secretly eager for the answer.

"Ignorance."

Haku blinked at his answer.

"As human beings, we tend to conflict on we believe in. This is due to the lack of unity. Separated by geography, cultures, and fear, we divided ourselves from each other, and thus, we began to really divide ourselves."

Dr. Cipherous chuckled at that. He then turned down the fire under the beaker, before he placed his hands in front of the glass container. His hands glowed bright green, and the potion began to glow green.

"Over time, we began to understand each other less. And when one fails to understand something, they either attempt to, or they do not, for a number of reasons. A few include fear, the strong belief that they are right, and the lack of interest in doing so. Tell me, Haku."

The doctor's "eyes" gazed into her own.

"Are you the victim of ignorance?"

Haku's eyes widened for a millisecond, before it began to close. She began to remember that particular day…

"...yes," She finally whispered. "Yes, I am."

Dr. Cipherous said nothing. Haku realized that he expected her to give her story. Probably only fair she gave hers, seeing as how the doctor gave her his.

"When I was a young child, I lived in the Land of the Water." She said softly. "I lived happily with my mother and my father in a small, snowy village. Even though we didn't have much, we had each other, and that was enough."

She smiled sadly at the old memory.

"Then one day, I discovered that I had a unique talent. With just my two hands, I was able to manipulate water. Proud of my newfound talent, I showed it to my mother."

She then rubbed her right cheek.

"I was rather surprised at her hostile reaction towards my ability. My mother, though, apologized, and explained to me why she never wanted me to use my gift. Unknowingly, my father saw the whole thing."

Dr. Cipher remained silent. His hands stopped glowing, and he carefully grabbed the Claisen Flask. He took out a vial, unscrewed the lid, and poured the liquid into it. Even though the doctor seemed busy, Haku knew he was listening carefully.

"Later that night, he rounded up the villagers. Without mercy, he and his partners struck down my mother."

Haku sounded like she was about to tear up, but retained her strong composure.

"Even though I was an innocent child, born ignorant into this world, they came after me next. I tried to run, but they cornered me. With tears running down his face, he tried to strike me down too."

Haku then looked down at her right hand.

"Perhaps I should've perished that night. That way, I might've been reunited with my mother shortly after parting with her. But, the same gift-or curse-that gotten my mother killed, ended up saving me."

With some hesitation, she waved her hand over a cluster of weeds. The weeds were immediately encased in ice. Haku then clutched her hand, and the ice-encased weeds exploded.

Dr. Cipher closed the vial with a small hiss.

"I see. You too, are a victim of ignorance. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It is all alright." Haku smiled. "I've found a man to fight for and protect, and that has healed my wounds."

"Ah, that's right." Dr. Cipher said. "Your father was injured, was he not? Here, take this."

He handed her the red potion, which she accepted.

"Your father should take this potion to get better almost instantly, although he would still need a day's worth of rest. This should be taken preferably within one gulp."

"Thank you doctor." Haku bowed. "Now, I should get going."

"It was a pleasure to meet you." The doctor nodded. He shook hands with her, before they parted ways.

…

Haku walked back to her secret hideout, where her master-or father-awaited her. She was humming a soft tune, but despite her relaxed appearance, she was making sure that she was not being followed.

"What a peculiar man he was." She said to herself. She took out the vial, and gazed at the liquid inside of it. She was tempted to throw it away, since for all she knew, it could've been poisonous. Then again, she recognized the medical chakra the doctor used, not to mention the herbs he put into the potion.

Then again, I have no idea what the other ingredients are. She thought to herself. It'll be a better idea to not use it...for now.

She pocketed the potion, and continued with her leisure stroll, enjoying the temporary peace. If she would've looked into her herb basket, she would've noticed a brass, metal beetle squirming through the herbs.

* * *

Sakura yawned, growing tired from just watching the construction workers do their thing. Sure, she was there to make sure nothing happened, but gosh, she was almost wishing something did!

"You sure seem bored all by yourself." Tazuna commented, carrying a wooden beam. "Where's the black haired kid?"

"Training with Kakashi." The Toymaker said, walking by him. The blonde teen seemed to be inspecting the bridge, which Tazuna felt a little offended by, since he knew darn well that it won't collapse.

"So you two don't have to?" Tazuna asked.

"I don't, she does." Naruto said, before he walked back to the end of the bridge, leaving a fuming Sakura.

"Hey! Tazuna!" One of the workers said.

Tazuna put down the wooden beam.

"Hn? What is it, Giichi?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," The greying man said, taking off his hard hat. "Can I stop working on the bridge?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

"Why is that?" Tazuna's voice slightly rose. "This is so sudden! Not you too!"

"Tazuna, we've been close for a long time now. I want to help you, but if we continue, Gatō will notice us. And if you get killed, then what's the point?"

The worker Giichi took a deep breathe, before giving his final thought.

"Why don't we quit building the bridge?"

Everyone, even Sakura and Naruto, grew silent.

"...I can't do that." Tazuna sighed. He gazed at the unfinished part of the bridge. "This bridge is our bridge. This is the bridge we started building together, believing it would bring resources into our poor country."

"But if we lose our lives-!"

"It's already noon. Let's stop for today." Tazuna interrupted. "Giichi...you don't have to come anymore."

"Ha."

He stopped talking at the sound of an escaped chuckle.

"I'm damned if I do," The Toymaker said, not turning around. "And I'm damned if I don't. You ever hear that phrase? No?"

The blonde turned around, closing his pocketwatch.

"Giichi, was it? Tell me, do you really think that giving up on the bridge would be a good idea? Do you really think that Gatō would leave you alone just cause you stopped working on this bridge?"

Naruto walked back towards Tazuna and Giichi, his hand sliding over the bridge railing.

"If you do quit on this bridge, then you'll have to get rid of it in order to make ABSOLUTE sure that Gatō wouldn't get mad at you, no?"

Giichi blinked, never actually thinking about that.

"Tell me, are you really willing to tear apart this beauty? The same amount of time and effort it would take to rip apart this thing is far more than the amount of time it would take to finish it, no?"

Giichi said nothing, and his head began to drop, ashamed at his cowardice and his lack of thinking.

"But, nonetheless, quit, if you like."

Everyone seemed confused at this sudden statement.

"All of you, quit, if you like. It wouldn't matter anyways. Afterall,"

Naruto lifted his arms up, until they were perpendicular to his body. Suddenly, the wind seemed to grow more ferocious. Everyone was wondering what was going on? Sorcery?

Then they heard the chopping noise. The trees then parted way as two large vehicles flew towards them. All the workers began to retreat behind their machinery, fearing that Gatō had finally caught on.

The helicopters remained in the air for a moment, before they released their cargo. The spider-like limbs that held the metal boxes underneath them sprang open, and the metal boxes fell with a, "THUD!"

The helicopters then flew away.

After a moment of silence, Naruto walked up to the said boxes. He pressed his hand on what looked like a small window with glowing buttons on it. The boxes beeped, before the doors slid open.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

The bridge builders mouths fell open as forty, metal, humanoids marched out of the boxes. A few of them were pushing metal crates filled with tools. The forty robots kept on marching, until they stopped just a few meters away from Tazuna.

"Our contract, remember?" The Toymaker said, pulling out a piece of paper. He blinked, before his eyes widened, remembering that he did strike up a deal with the Toymaker. Probably all the sake screwed up his head.

"Hey Giichi!"

"Y-yeah?"

"Can you and Hachiro bring me the blueprints?"

"O-okay!" The two men rushed to collect a copy of the blueprint, and returned in less than a minute with armfuls of rolled up paper. Pulling up a small table, Tazuna spread out the blueprints. One of the machines (obviously the leader due to the unique markings and paint job) stepped up to the table, patiently awaiting his explanation. Tazuna cleared his throat, before he began to give his order.

None of the workers left that day. Matter of fact, if Tazuna wasn't mistaken, a few of the workers who left came back the same day.

* * *

 **(Author's Note):**

Ancient Gear - Yugioh

Angela Blanc - Black Butler

Ash Landers - Black Butler

Clone - Atelier Escha & Logy

Doll - Bloodborne

Golden Box - ?

Metal Pyramid - ?

Ribbon - Infinity Blade 3

Tesla Grenade - Warehouse 13

Dr. Cipherous: art/Dr-Cipherous-Arcane-steampunk-plague-doctor-540223521

Naruto's Armor:  art/Deathstroke-the-Mandalorian-415032481


	8. C8 - Infinite Darkness

**(Tazuna's House - Morning) - Day 4**

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBE-

A hand went over a golden pocket watch, pushing a button. The beeping noise ceased immediately, and the Toymaker woke up with a yawn. Stretching, he changed out of his pajamas, before changing to his usual attire. Fastening the last button on his vest, he put on his coat, before heading to the bathroom.

After washing up quickly, he examined himself in the mirror. Satisfied, he left.

If he had stayed a minute longer, he would've seen the mirror ripple, as if a stone was cast into the water. A giggle escaped the mirror, before the ripples died down.

* * *

 **[Konoha]**

A day passed since the Ancient Gears were shipped to who-knows-where. The "who-knows-where" part is what's causing all this ruckus.

The Third Hokage sighed quietly, trying to remain patient at both the Ninja and the Civilian Council, who were all shouting something incoherent.

Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"EVERYONE, SHUT UP!" He roared, effectively silencing everyone. He took a deep breath, calming down his nerves. "Please, one at a time!"

He then looked to the center of the room, which was where Clone, the automaton, was sitting on a wooden chair. Her windup key turned every now and then, which, he had to admit, was quite fascinating to watch.

"Clone, is it true that your creator made a delivery yesterday?"

"Indeed he did." She nodded. "On exactly 12:34 PM of yesterday, he sent 20 AGEs, 20 AGSs, and 10 AGDs to The Land of the Waves in order to assist him on his latest C-Ranked mission to protect the bridge-builder."

She then gave an amused smile.

"Although knowing my son, he probably went above and beyond with this mission."

"What do you mean by that?" Shikaku Nara, leader of the Nara Clan, asked her. Clone in response pulled out a small Holotransceiver. She placed it on the small desk in front of her, and pushed a few buttons on it. A few seconds later, a huge, holographic image of the Toymaker appeared. Immediately, the room was filled with small sounds of construction in the background.

"Hi...Mom." He smiled, after a brief second of hesitation. Clone waved at him, giving him her motherly smile.

"Hello Naruto." Hiruzen said, after shooting the Council a look that basically meant, "Keep your mouth shut." "May I have a report on your mission?"

The Toymaker smiled.

"Very well. On the way to The Land of the Waves, we were attacked by The Demon Brothers of the Hidden Mist."

Everyone's mouths dropped open.

"Oh, you thought that was bad?" The Toymaker chuckled. "Turns out they were just the beginning. Turns out that they were Zabuza's minions. Yes, Zabuza Momochi, the 'Demon of the Hidden Mist'."

"Then why aren't you back in the village?" Chōza Akimichi, leader of the Akimichi clan, asked, while munching on some chips.

"In a nutshell? Cause I was bored. Plus, I never did finish my fight with Zabuza."

"Wait, what?" A Civilian leader asked. "What do you mean, you fought an A-Ranked missing-nin? Does that mean that you ran off without our permission?"

Naruto glared at the civilian, making him cringe back in fear.

"For your information, before I graduated as a ninja of Konoha, I was a civilian. That means, that I can up and leave the village, and none of you fuckers can say shit."

Everyone blinked at Naruto's sudden attitude.

"Me, being a civilian at the time, I had to earn money. None of you gentlemen decided to be honest enough about my inheritance, so I had no idea about how rich I was. Contrary to what many of you might believe,"

This earned him many looks of anger and shame.

"I don't deserve to be living in a moldy apartment, eating nothing but ramen and rats to survive. No, I deserved much more, and so, when the day came when I discovered the Toymaker's workshop, I began to train myself with the knowledge it provided me with."

The Civilians (and some of the ninjas) looked like they wanted to comment on that, but Naruto wasn't done.

"Since I couldn't a get a job in this rotten village, I decided to take jobs _outside_ of it. Being a civilian, even if I could become a ninja, I was able to freely do so. Forging an armor and a name for myself, I quickly earned my reputation as 'Deathstroke the Terminator.'"

"Bullshit!" Sadao Tomi, leader of the Merchant Guild, cried out. "Even with some old-man's training, there's no way you could be an S-Ranked mercenary!"

In response, Naruto bit his thumbs, then swiped an X on his chest. Smoke exploded from his body, which covered the Toymaker. When the smoke dissipated, it revealed Deathstroke the Terminator.

"Happy to see me?" The man growled behind the T-visor. They all gawked at the orange-armored man. To think that an S-Ranked bounty hunter was within their ranks shocked the hell out of them!

The Third Hokage sighed.

"You know, no one except for Zabuza and his minions know of my true identity." Deathstroke stated. "And knowing him and his flunkies, they won't say a peep, since they fear and respect Zabuza, and that he has his honor, just like I have mine. If you have any enemies to body bag, I'd be happy to help...for a price."

"We shall keep that in mind." Danzo Shimura, one of Hiruzen's advisers, stated.

"Well then," Deathstroke's voice suddenly became less harsh, and then his armor disappeared into a puff of clouds, revealing the Toymaker. "I shall get going then. I have a bridge to build."

The hologram disappeared. After a period of silence, he dismissed Clone.

"Lord Hokage." Inoichi Yamanaka, leader of the Yamanaka clan, started. "May I give my thoughts?"

The old member of the Sarutobi clan nodded.

"I believe this 'Deathstroke' may be a different personality."

"Excuse me?" The Third Hokage blinked.

"The way his voice changed wasn't fake." He explained. "I've seen my fair share of people with multiple-personality disorders, and he clearly has at least 1 alternative personality. This can be backed up with the fact that your memory seal failed on that day, which undoubtedly forced the poor boy to relive every previous torment without warning. That amount of trauma is more than sufficient to create an alternative personality in an attempt to preserve what's left of his sanity, and help him cope with the stress."

Everyone grew dead quiet at this.

"Well," Shikaku Nara sighed. "It won't take a genius to know to never piss him off, hm?"

Everyone (some reluctantly) agreed.

The Third Hokage pulled out a paper and a pen, and began to write something down onto it.

"What are you doing, Lord Hokage?" One of the council members asked.

"I'm going to send Kakashi what Inoichi had just said." He explained. He folded it, before he flipped through a few handsigns.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

With a small explosion, a small monkey in a robe appeared out of a cloud.

"Please send this message to Kakashi Hatake." The God of Shinobi instructed to his monkey summon. The small primate nodded, before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

 **[Tazuna's House - Evening]**

Inari stared at his soup. His mother's cooking was always good, but he didn't feel like eating his lunch. It was hard to when everyone around you was just being annoying.

He thought that with all the hard (but fruitless) work that they did on the bridge, they would be quiet for the most part. But it wasn't the case.

 _Why?_ He thought. He looked at the weird kid with that weird outfit. He was looking at the paper that contained the plans and information about Gatō's mansion. He was talking with the rest of his team members about this, and he was actually grinning time to time.

What gave him the right to smile in this awful situation!?

Of course, he held his tongue, out of respect for his mother, but he couldn't help but let out a few words every now and then.

He didn't know why he bothered to even try to warn them. He knew from the start that they were stubborn enough to continue, even with the odds against them. That's why they were here, wasn't it? Just staying here pointlessly, eating up their food, sleeping in their small house, and needlessly risking their necks for a paycheck that'll never arrive.

 _Why?_ He trembled slightly, a tear rolling down his face. No one noticed his lament, due to the small, happy atmosphere that filled the room. His hands trembled, remembering all the failed attempts at rebellion.

Kaiza.

Tazuna's friends.

His old neighbors.

About a dozen more who tried to stand up against Gatō, only to be executed just like Kaiza.

That didn't include all the ones who were killed or kidnapped to "set an example", or for "business."

Why couldn't they get it? They can't win! They might have "powers" or whatever, but with that rogue ninja still out there, and Gatō's army of mercenaries, they didn't stand a chance!

"Why?"

It was just a whisper, but everyone's voices finally died down. Even the "Toymaker" raised his head from the paper.

"Excuse me?" The said blonde asked. "What did you say?"

"...WHY?" Inari finally shouted, which startled everyone in the room. The blonde teen put down the paper, and folded his hands on the table.

"Why what?"

"Why do you keep on trying?" Inari half shouted, half wailed. "Can't you see that's it's useless!"

"Inari!" His mother said, but this time, Inari wasn't stopping.

"Oh no, it's alright, Tsunami." The Toymaker said. "It's not healthy to keep your pain inside. Otherwise, it causes unnecessary suffering."

At this, Inari exploded.

"SUFFERING?!" He shouted, glaring at the taller boy. "How could you talk about suffering? What would you know about it?"

 _Shit_. Kakashi thought. _I gotta stop this before this gets out of control._

"Inari, maybe you should listen to your-"

"All of you live your cozy lives, thinking you're all so cool in your happy life! How could you just walk into our lives, as if you know about hardship! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HARDSHIP!"

Silence. Dead silence. Everyone looked at Naruto, expected him to shout right back. But surprisingly, it was calm. Eerily calm. No, not calm. Just quiet.

Suddenly, everyone started trembling. Their breathing began to increase. Their hands shook uncontrollably, and Inari began to whimper as the light in the room began to diminish.

 _What is going on?_ Kakashi wondered, as he too was began to shiver. He then realized that this was Naruto's KI, fueled by his hatred, his anger, his pain. True pain, that Inari _dared_ to poke at.

CLUMP.

All eyes fell onto the table as they suddenly noticed a black and gold box. Designed with intricate patterns, the box laid on the table, seemingly innocent.

Then, it began to move by itself. A large piece of the box slid out of itself. It turned about 45 degrees to the left, before it slid back down.

BONG. BONG. BONG.

They all jumped at the sudden sound of church bells, ringing from an unknown source. They all shivered at the sound of a music box that soon followed.

PLOP. PLOP. PLOP.

Their eyes went towards the kitchen, and they nearly threw up at what they found. The wooden walls now had skin and flesh on it, and a piece of it just fell off in a pile of worm-filled tissue.

JINGLE. JINGLE. JINGLE.

Their eyes, now filled with terror, slowly followed the sounds of the jingling. They began to get lower as they realized that hooked chains now hung from the ceiling. They swung lightly in the air, as if daring anyone to touch it.

"Pain?"

The Toymaker's low voice pierced the air. The eerily calm voice made all of them shiver. Instinctively, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke pulled out their kunai. They looked at Naruto, but his head was bowed down, which shadowed his face.

"Hardship?"

The blonde man was now snarling. He finally lifted his head.

Everyone gasped at what they saw. Naruto's hair was burnt off, with pins messily hammered into his skull. His face was horribly scarred and disfigured from being slashed and burnt.

His cheeks were messily slashed upward, which gave him the image of a demonic, crazed, smiling freak. Despite the ghoulish grin carved onto his face, his damaged, slightly milky eyes showed anything but a smile.

"How dare you use those words! Allow me...to show you true pain!"

He snapped his fingers, and then a group of people stepped out of the shadows.

 _What the hell?_ Kakashi thought, as he observed the people-no- _things_ -step out into the open. One of the monsters was a pale-white man with pins stuck into his head, each pin inserted into a cut that intersected another.

Another was a pale, bald woman, with her throat ripped open with wires that was stuck into her face. With the leather outfit that the others wore as well, her blades swung from her hips like the chains on the ceiling.

CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK.

When they turned to find the sound of what sounded like teeth clattering, their eyes widened even further to see a tall man, but with his cheeks forcibly opened with hooked wires. From the looks and sounds of it, he couldn't talk, but could only clack his teeth endlessly. Even though he had no eyes, they knew that he was looking at them.

A few more footsteps slowly broke them out of their mortified trance towards the disfigured being, to find this time a less (but still rather horrifying) beings. One of them was a man in red and grey armor. A grey helmet covered his face, and the armor covered his entire body. Despite its bulky appearance, the Red Man moved normally, as if nothing was weighing him down.

The second figure was much more horrifying. Like the other mutilated beings, he/she wore a tight, leather clothing. Like the other mutilated beings, it looked like it had been through Hell. The man was covered in painful splinters, piercing skin, flesh, organs, and eyelids. When they looked closer, even the leather clothing was pinned into his skin with splinters.

Their shock was killed when "Splinter" and the Red Man grabbed Inari, and began to drag him towards the Toymaker.

"Hey, let me go!" Inari shouted.

Kakashi and Sasuke moved to stop them, but was halted by a giant, rusty knife slammed in front of them. They looked to the owner of the knife to see what looked like a muscular, dirty butcher. This butcher, though, had a giant, metal pyramid on his head, and made an animalistic growling noise at them.

"You say that I do not know of pain." The Toymaker, or at the moment, the Hell Lord, said. "You dare open your mouth, and speak such nonsense?"

The Hell Lord raised both of his hands, and they began to glow as seals creeped up to his palms.

"NO, Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, suddenly realizing what he was going to do. "STOP!"

"Allow me to give you a small example of REAL PAIN!"

And with that, Naruto slammed his glowing hands onto Inari's head, and the seals slithered onto him. Naruto then pulled back, and Inari stood still, saying nothing.

Then,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Inari let out a blood-curling shriek as he experienced everything Naruto went through in the first year of his life. Beatings. Starvation. The bitter cold. Dehydration.

And then it was over. The Red Man and The Splintered Demon let go of the boy, and he collapsed. He shivered as he tried to block out what he just experienced.

"That wasn't the worst of it, you know." The Hell Lord knelt down to meet Inari's eye level. "And on top of that, that was only 5 seconds of a part of my life crammed together. Tell me, do you still think that I don't know pain?"

"N-no." Inari said shakily. He tried to meet eye contact, but looked away, unable to look at the eyes of pain and hatred. "I-I'm sorry."

The Hell Lord was silent for a moment, before he sighed. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly everything was back to normal. No organic walls. No mutilated demons. No scars on the Toymaker. Almost like nothing happened.

Almost. The Pyramid Headed man was the only thing that stayed behind. It stood in its place silently, further awaiting orders.

"Stay here and protect Tazuna and his family." The Toymaker ordered. "Don't worry too much about the ninjas, they can take care of themselves. Help Tsunami in any way if she needs it."

He then left, picking up his hat.

"H-hey Naruto! Where are you going?" Sakura asked/demanded, albeit shakily.

"For a walk." He replied. "Don't follow, and don't ask any questions until later."

And with that, he left the house, almost slamming the door shut.

Silence filled the room, except for the monster's heavy breathings.

* * *

Naruto growled, clutching his head. His head was pounding, his anger and his memories pulsing through his head.

 _Where is it?_ He thought. _I need it! Where the hell did he leave it?_

A few minutes later, his headache grew so painful that he had to sit down. Feeling sand under his rear end, and hearing the roar of the ocean, he realized that he was at the beach, where Inari usually hung out to sulk.

 _Rather ironic, I must say._ He chuckled to himself. He winced as the ringing returned to his ears.

 _I really need to control my anger._ He thought. _I almost blew my "Grand Plan" on the spot. Dammit, so stupid. And now, I'm hearing music._

Naruto blinked at that thought. He stood still for a moment, scanning the area for the source of the music. He stood up, and began to walk towards the cliff nearby. Ignoring the tidepools lapping at his shoes, he walked up to the moss covered rocks.

"Hmm." He examined the rocks in front of him, then the entire cliff itself. He held out his left hand, and pulled off his glove, revealing an odd, intricate tattoo that seemed very...outworldly. The tattoo on the back of his left hand glowed, burning his skin a little, and the cliff opened. The rocks in front of him parted ways with loud noises of rocks being forcefully ripped apart, dropping dust and sand from the ceiling. After waiting a minute for the dust to settle, Naruto stepped inside.

The darkness within seemed to welcome him as he ventured further, and eventually the rocks closed in on itself.

* * *

 _Omake (Just after Naruto left)_

"H-hey Naruto! Where are you going?" Sakura asked/demanded, albeit shakily.

"For a walk." He replied. "Don't follow, and don't ask any questions until later."

And with that, he left the house, almost slamming the door shut.

Silence filled the room, except for the monster's heavy breathings.

"Um, excuse me?" Tsunami finally said something. The Pyramid headed monster turned to look at her slowly. "The young man said that you could help me with anything, right?"

Pyramid Head nodded.

"Then, would you mind if you wash the dishes while I tend to my son?"

Everyone's mouths dropped at that request. No way that this Hell-spawn would help her with the dishes out of everything!

The monster said nothing for a second, almost as if he too was stunned by the request.

CLUNK!

They flinched as the monster let go of his giant knife, falling roughly onto the wooden floor. It walked towards the dinner table, then it collected the dishes.

 _What the hell?_ Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura thought, as the monster carried the dishes towards the sink. A minute later, they heard the water running.

"...he's really washing the dishes." Tsunami said, stunned. Blinking, she should her head, before comforting her son.

* * *

(Author's Note):

Ancient Gear - Yugioh

Angela Blanc - Black Butler

Ash Landers - Black Butler

Clone - Atelier Escha & Logy

Cenobites - Hellraiser

Doll - Bloodborne

Golden Box Lament Configuration - Hellraiser

Metal Pyramid - ?

Pyramid Head - Silent Hill

Red Man - ?

Ribbon - Infinity Blade 3

Tesla Grenade - Warehouse 13

Dr. Cipherous:

art/Dr-Cipherous-Arcane-steampunk-plague-doctor-540223521

Naruto's Armor:  art/Deathstroke-the-Mandalorian-415032481


	9. C9 - The Beginning (Day 4-5)

**[Gatō: Gatō's Mansion]**

To say Gatō was angry, anxious, and nervous would be a huge understatement. Reports of "metal men with glowing eyes," giant ships that he assumed came from The Land of the Sky, and a "bird masked doctor" was given to him just recently, and from the looks of it, they were here for a while.

"Now…" Gatō said slowly, anger and anxiety clear in his voice. "Why is it that it took THIS long to report this news to me?"

The spies in front of Gatō gulped, eying the mercenaries near their boss.

"It was because we were being silenced, sir." One of them hastily replied. "We would find some of our associates either dead, or without their memory."

"I don't care for your excuses!" The crime lord growled. "I want answers! I want to know where that bastard Tazuna is! Go find him!"

"Now now." A deep, distorted voice suddenly said from the doorway. "That's no way to treat your workers, is it?"

Everyone looked at the doorway, and were shocked at what they saw. They saw a huge man in black, plated armor, with golden lines covering the armor. The black knight clutched a sword in his right hand, while a shield was attached to his left arm. His helmet, like the rest of his armor, was black with golden lines that patterned it. The helmet had pointed metal curving upwards, making him look like a demon.

"Wh-who are you?" Gatō finally stammered, ready to give the signal to attack.

The black knight chuckled menacingly, walking up to the crime lord. Twirling the sword, he plunged it into the desk, making the short man jump in fear. He did not fail to notice his desk blacken and rot around the blade.

"I go by many names, but at the moment, I am Ausar the Vile."

"N-nice to meet you Mr. Ausar." Gatō offered his hand. After staring at it for a second, Ausar reluctantly shook it.

"I've traveled a long way here." Ausar explained. "I've received orders from my...superior, in order to expand his business."

"What sort of business." Gatō asked, curiosity overtaking fear.

"The kind that'll benefit the both of us." Ausar then pulled out a small disk, and placed it onto the ruined table, which was slowly rotting from the blade's touch. He pushed a button, and a hologram popped up, surprising Gatō and his men.

The blue hologram showed a picture of an Ancient Gear soldier. After "tapping" on the hologram a few times, it began to describe what it did, and it also showed what it was capable of.

Awed, Gatō turned back to the looming knight.

"Are you telling me that you can give me some of those machines?"

"No." Ausar chuckled. "While I was able to steal a few blueprints, I've only brought it to give you some advantage over the enemy. No, instead, I'm here to offer you something better."

Ausar then pushed a few buttons on the Holoprojector, and the small disk then showed something else. Like the Ancient Gear, this robot was humanoid. And yet, it was also different. It was much more slender, and it also had a bizarre, thin head. It's three fingered "hands" also carried what appeared to a machine gun.

"This, my friend, will even the odds against your new foe."

* * *

 **[Naruto: In a deep, dark cave]**

Naruto pushed a button on the _Edison's Cane_ , and the lightbulb lit up, illuminating the cave.

 _Well, not a cave._ He realized. Instead of jagged, rough rocks dripping with water, broken smooth walls with ornate patterns surrounded his sides. Pictures, ancient words, seals, and hieroglyphs roamed the walls, which made the Toymaker extra cautious.

To his surprise and relief, none of the seals acted. It was probably thanks to the mark on his left hand for that.

His thoughts ended when he noticed a different glow of light in one of the many rooms. Instead of the yellow glow from his cane, and from the occasional orange light from candles and torches, this glow was purple.

"Curiouser and curiouser." He muttered.

* * *

 **[In another place]**

A beautiful, black haired woman in a blue dress and a slightly bloodied white apron walked through a jungle. Passing by a floating domino, her green eyed closed momentarily as she let out a quick, cute, sneeze.

 _I must be getting closer to the Duchess._ She sniffed. _She always did use too much pepper in her soup._

* * *

 **[Naruto: The dark cave]**

When the Toymaker made it into the room with the purple light, he was greeted by what looked like a shrine made of purple curtains and a small table. The wall behind it had writings etched onto it, which spewed nonsense that the Toymaker found somewhat boring.

On the shrine was a circular, white disk with leather buckles on it. The strange symbol on it matched the one on the Toymaker's left hand.

"An Outsider Rune." He muttered, before he picked it up.

Immediately, black mist flooded the room, but unlike the first time, he did not panic.

" **It's good to see you again, Toymaker."** A masculine voice said behind him. Twitching a little from surprise, the young blonde turned around to see a floating, young man. With pure black eyes (including the sclera), a brown jacket, blue pants, and slightly muddied boots, the Outsider greeted him once more.

"Likewise." The Toymaker nodded. "How are things with the others?"

" **They are...interesting, to say the least."** His lips curled into a small smile. " **Although, not as interesting as you are."**

" **I take offense to that."** A deep voice rumbled. Out of the black mist, came a ginormous, red fox with nine tails. " **How could** _ **he**_ **be more interesting than me, the mighty Nine-Tailed Fox?"**

Slightly annoyed at being interrupted, he waved his hand, and the Kyuubi disappeared with a yelp.

" **Hopefully he'll find your other friends to be more interesting."**

"Eh, I doubt it. They're not really his size, so he'll probably try to kill them." The Toymaker sighed. "By the way, not that I'm not enjoying this small talk, but why exactly are you here?"

" **To grant you a warning...and ask a question."**

"Shoot."

" **As mentioned before, I only grant my powers to those who interest me. Whether they plan to use it for good or evil, I do not know, nor do I care."**

Naruto thought about that for a moment, before he snapped his fingers.

"There's others in this world with your mark."

" **Sharp as always, Toymaker. While I won't say who, I will tell you this: This person reminds me of Daud. I trust that you've read the stories of my previous interests?"**

The Toymaker nodded. The day he first met the Outsider, the Outsider gave him two things: His mark and a copy of his Chronicle. The Outsider's Chronicle contained every information about the Outsider, his origin, the Void, the powers granted from the Mark, and the previous people granted with the Mark. Two names, Corvo and Daud, stood out from the rest.

" **This person, like Daud, is ruthless. Like Daud, he has formed an army of his own. However, unlike Daud, all traces of humanity in him is destroyed, the executioner being himself. Now, with a diabolical plan waiting to be orchestrated, the conductor has only one threat - you."**

The Outsider let that sink in, before he resumed.

" **Now, as for my question, do you honestly believe that your 'Grand Plan' would work?"**

The Toymaker remained silent.

" **Humans throughout history has sought peace, peacefully and violently. In the end, it's simply a matter of one war after another. In the end, it always ends with humans tearing each other's throats for petty reasons. And yet, will you still go through with your 'Grand Plan?'"**

"...yes."

The Outsider said nothing in return. He merely tilted his head with curiosity.

"I'm sticking with my plan. It's morally questionable, I'll admit. Perhaps I'll burn for it. Perhaps it'll end in failure. Perhaps it'll only make things worse. But…"

The Toymaker twirled his cane, slamming it to the floor.

"No one's ever tried it before. And as a scientist, I must find out if it'll work or not. Besides, I've come this far and lost so much. I cannot afford to go back, especially in this endless nightmare of hatred that we all live in. If I were to turn back at this point, everything I've done, everything I've lost, everything I've sacrificed, would be a waste. And worst of all, nothing would change. Well, at least on my part."

The Outsider remained silent, absorbing his words. He then smiled again for a moment, before his faced returned neutral.

" **And tell me, young one, if you were to burn for your crimes, what would you do?"**

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get close to it."

For a moment, it looked like the Outsider was about to chuckle. It must've been the trick of the Mist, since his expression didn't change.

" **Oh dear Toymaker."** The Outsider mused. " **You interest me so much. I do hope that you enjoy your new power."**

And just like that, the Toymaker was back into the old, hidden temple. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

* * *

 **[Tazuna's house; Nighttime]**

It has been hours since the Toymaker had left. It has been hours after he had shown off his...darker side. It had also been hours since the Third Hokage's letter came in, but by then, they already been exposed to his "other personality." Still, hearing a confirmation from their supreme leader was still unsettling.

 _And speaking of unsettling._ Kakashi thought, looking at the Pyramid Headed demon. _Whatever the hell this thing is, it's giving all of us the willies. I'm glad that Naruto's on our side...for now at least._

The thought of Naruto betraying the village seemed to cross his mind more frequently now. And honestly, if he ever did defect from the village, it wouldn't really be that surprising, and he couldn't blame him. The real question is what was he going to do if it actually happened?

 _Stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I'm not even there yet._

And hopefully, he never would be.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The sudden noise made them tense. Kakashi immediately pulled out a kunai, and approached the door. After checking who was at the other side of it, he opened the door to reveal the masked doctor.

"Hello friends." Dr. Cipherous greeted. Seeing the somber faces, his cheerful attitude seemed to die down a bit.

"Um, I take it that something has happened?"

"...that would be an understatement." The last Uchiha commented.

After a brief explanation of what happened a few hours previous, and also why there was a demon cleaning the kitchen, Dr. Cipherous made a humming noise.

"I see. Well, he never the same after that particular incident."

For some reason, when Dr. Cipherous said this, his "eyes" went to Kakashi.

"What incident?" Sakura, Sasuke, Tazuna, and Tsunami asked. Kakashi suddenly looked bashful, as if he had something to hide. This did not go unnoticed by everyone (except Inari, who went to bed.)

The said man took a deep breath, before he looked back up.

"First of all, Tazuna, Tsunami. Can you two please leave the room?"

The two of them were surprised by the request, but didn't question it. They got up to leave the room, and immediately Pyramid Head hurried to follow the two.

After they left the room, Kakashi took a deep breath.

"Sasuke. Sakura." The tone of his voice suddenly was full of seriousness, making all of them pay extra attention. "What I'm about to tell you is an S-Ranked secret."

Their eyes widened at that.

"If I told you this and was caught by the Hokage, I would be executed." Kakashi added, further adding in the tension. "However, since we are a team with Naruto, I suppose it might do all of us good to understand him a little more. Can I trust the both of you to never share this secret with others, unless noted otherwise?"

The two of them nodded solemnly.

"It all started about 13 years ago…"

…

When Kakashi was done explaining everything, from Naruto's burden, to who his parents were, and everything the blonde endured, Sasuke and Sakura felt sick. All this time, he was the reason they're still breathing, yet everyone, including them, treated him as if he was nothing?! The worst part is that some people KNEW what was going on, and yet, they still hated his existence.

"...why?" Sakura weakly asked, trembling.

"Fear." Kakashi sighed. "Grief, and ignorance. When we lose something we hold dear, we often wish to blame someone for it. And when the Third Hokage decided to tell the public about the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice, well, some of them didn't take it so well."

"But where do you fit in with the picture?" Sasuke asked. Kakashi's depressed look darkened.

"Being the Fourth Hokage's former student, I was given the task of guarding Naruto. I, however, was foolish. Angry. Saddened. And, I suppose jealous. Foolish enough to listen to the anger of the people. Angry that my father-figure, my teacher, had passed away, while his 'abomination' got to live. Saddened, at the fact that my father-figure and teacher had been killed needlessly. And finally, jealous. Jealous at the fact that Naruto was Minato-sensei's real son, and not I. All those thoughts and emotions flowed through my drunken head as I let the villagers attempt to execute him. Every time that I had to step in, I chose not to. And that,"

His single eye glistened with tears of shame.

"Is why I am worse than trash."

While Sasuke and Sakura tried to comfort their miserable teacher, Dr Cipherous and the mechanical mice stared at the ninjas. Dr. Cipherous stroked the bottom of his mask in thought, humming as he did.

* * *

 **[The Next Morning]**

"Naruto still hasn't returned?"

"No." Kakashi answered Tsunami. "Do not worry. He...can take care of himself."

A worried expression remaining on her face, she finished making breakfast, and served it to everyone (except Dr. Cipherous, since he already left, saying he had to finish something.)

Her concerned expression grew even more worried when she spotted the pink and black haired youth's faces. They looked as if they had heard something disturbing, which she didn't doubt.

A grunt pulled Tsunami out of her thoughts, and she saw Pyramid Head entering the room with a plate full of cooked rabbits.

"Um, where did you get those?"

The demon merely shrugged.

* * *

 **[Naruto: Outside]**

The blonde ninja pushed a vine away for the tenth time with his cane. He gazed at the Outsider's Mark on his left hand, before he clenched his fist. He quickly thrust it forward, and all the vines in front of him blasted away with a powerful gust of wind. The Toymaker admired his work, before a look of discomfort wrinkled his face.

 _Looks like I'll have to train for a bit with this one._ He thought. Then a thought occurred to him. _I wonder if I can add my chakra to the mark to further enhance my power._

His thoughts were interrupted by a noise behind him. He whipped around, his pistol appearing in his hands. He relaxed when it was just Dr. Cipherous, holding his hands up.

"Don't scare me like that, friend." The Toymaker sighed, lowering his weapon.

"You're telling me." The steampunk doctor retorted. "You scared me and my latest patient."

The Toymaker raised an eyebrow at that. Remembering that the Toymaker never met Haku, the doctor introduced him to her. After a few introductions, the Toymaker and Haku met each other.

The three of them sat in silence, enjoying each other's presence while they picked herbs. They exchanged their stories, and while they never went into full detail, they all recognized each other's pain.

"I am glad we have met." Haku finally said, smiling at them. The Toymaker smiled back, and the doctor did too, even if neither of them could see it. She then got up, having enough herbs. "I hope we can meet again."

"Take care."

They never saw Haku's tears as she walked away, knowing that the next time they meet, it will be as enemies.

* * *

 **[Haku: Zabuza's Hideout]**

As soon as Haku returned to their hideout, Haku quickly changed to her usual outfit.

"I'm back, Zabuza-sama." Haku said.

"Good." He simply said. He tried to get up, but groaned, his muscles still feeling like it was on fire.

"Please do not get up." She said. "You are still recovering from your 'death', so you should not overexert yourself."

Zabuza grunted, before he gave up.

The door opened, and Gatō stepped inside. Oddly enough, only one of his usual bodyguards followed him in.

"The hell you want now?" Zabuza asked grumpily. Gatō smirked in response.

"Zabuza, I've come to tell you some...interesting news. Before you ask, I'll tell you."

The short crimelord beckoned his finger, and three things came in, which surprised the Mist ninjas. Two of the things that walked in appeared to be slender, alien like things that reminded them of puppets.

 _Except no one's pulling the chakra strings._ They all noticed.

"Surprised? I won't lie to ya, I was too. These remarkable machines are called 'Battle Droids'. Made from complete metal, they are immune to fire, shock resistant, water proof, and are completely obedient."

"Where is this going?"

POW!

Zabuza nearly jumped out of his bed when the lamp next to him exploded. Connecting the dots, he realized that those "battle droids" had a same weapon similar to Deathstroke's. Only the difference is that the weapon left behind a smoking crater.

"What I was going to say is that you will be taking these battle droids to help you finish the job, since obviously you can't do it by yourself. Don't thank me."

"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't out of the 'kindness of your heart?'"

Gatō merely smirked.

"I'm just testing them out - and making sure that the job gets done. Remember this: If my new Battle Droids gets the job done before you, your pay is reduced."

"...so who's Doom and Gloom?"

"The name's Ausar." The dark knight's harsh voice echoed the room. "I'm the one who gave Gatō my droids. To fight business, you must set up another one. Then let the titans clash, and see who walks away alive."

While Ausar chuckled at the thought, Zabuza and his partners frowned at this.

…

After Gatō and his new partner left, Zabuza let out a sigh that he didn't know he held.

CRUNCH!

The Demon Brothers flinched as Zabuza swung his giant sword, damaging the delicate wall.

"FUCK!" This time Haku flinched as Zabuza growled in anger. "Can't believe this shit. First I'm too injured to fight. Then Gatō out of all the rotten scum of this country almost killed me with a-"

SMACK.

Haku slapped Zabuza, which broke him out of his rant.

"...thanks. I needed that." Zabuza relaxed, laying back onto his bed, groaning all the day down. The Demon brothers let out a sigh of relief.

While hearing Zabuza's groans, Haku suddenly remembered the little gift that the doctor gave her. Well, two actually, since the second time they met, the doctor gave her another of the Red Elixir. The second time, out of pure curiosity, she sampled the elixir (she cut herself rather badly that day). To her surprise, the wound healed quickly and pleasantly (the taste was anything but pleasant though). And seeing how she was still alive, not weakened, and feeling slightly stronger, she knew that the elixir was legit.

All those thoughts ran through her head as she offered the first, half empty glass bottle of the elixir to Zabuza. Although unfamiliar with it, he took it anyways, and his eyes widened as his wounds healed on the spot.

"...I don't know what the hell you just gave me, but,"

Zabuza leapt off his bed, stretching his limbs.

"I think I'll be good to go tomorrow."

* * *

 **(Author's Note):**

Ancient Gear - _Yugioh_

Angela Blanc - _Black Butler_

Ash Landers - _Black Butler_

Battle Droid _\- Star Wars_

Clone - _Atelier Escha & Logy_

Cenobites - _Hellraiser_

Doll - _Bloodborne_

Lament Configuration - _Hellraiser_

Metal Pyramid - ?

Pyramid Head - _Silent Hill_

Red Man - _?_

Ribbon - _Infinity Blade 3_

Tesla Grenade - _Warehouse 13_

Dr. Cipherous:  art/Dr-Cipherous-Arcane-steampunk-plague-doctor-540223521

Naruto's Armor:  art/Deathstroke-the-Mandalorian-415032481


	10. C10 - The Battle for Wave! (Day 6-7)

{Some reviews would be nice! ;( Anyways, enjoy!}

{Also, really sorry for the long hiatus. School can be really bothersome. Anyways, I hope this chapter makes up for it somewhat!}

* * *

 **[Day 6 - Afternoon]**

Gatō was a man of many things. Businessman. Mob boss. Criminal. CEO of Gatō Company (a powerful shipping business). Drug dealer. And finally, the King of Wave.

 _At least._ He thought, looking in fascination at the construction going on in front of him. _That's going to be my new title AFTER I get rid of...my problems._

Even with his small army of thugs and his team of missing-nins from the Mist Village, he was uncertain that he could be successful with stopping Tazuna. One man! One man dared to stand in his way of success, and yet, that one man was winning! His confidence really began to sink when he heard that one of the "Genins" turned out to be motherfucking Deathstroke the Terminator! He knew how dangerous he was, since at one point, he hired him to eliminate a rival criminal business. He thought it would've taken at least a week to do the job. The next morning after he hired him, he woke up to find Deathstroke in his room, sitting on the corpses of the rival group.

"Money, please." The armored mercenary asked coolly. Needless to say, Gatō paid him on the spot.

Knowing how dangerous Deathstroke was, he wondered why he didn't just hire him to do the job. Oh yeah, too pricy. Anyways, the moment he knew that Deathstroke was going to protect the bridge builder, he was secretly getting ready to haul ass when...what was his name? Oh yes, Ausar. When Ausar come along and offered his "droids", his confidence returned.

 _I also got a new toy._ He thought, admiring the new "pistol", as they would call it, on his leg.

His thoughts were interrupted by the factory office door sliding open, prompting him to turn around. He was greeted with the sight of 3 battle droids, with the center droid having a yellow circle on its chest, marking it as the leader.

" **Sir,"** The B1 Battle Droid said, its voice surprisingly deep, " **Our factory has generated 60 B1 Battle Droids, and more is on its way."**

"Good." The crime lord smiled.

" **Unfortunately, we are rapidly running out of resources, and we also need the money to buy and or obtain more."**

Gatō frowned at that. He scratched his chin in thought out of habit.

"Extract 450,304 yen from my account. Buy whatever you need with it. Then,"

He looked at his _human_ bodyguards from inside of the office, who shuffled around nervously around the alien machines.

"Gather round all the mercenaries...and wipe them out."

" **Roger roger."**

* * *

 **[The Bridge]**

Tazuna was amazed and overjoyed. Finally, the bridge was complete! What should've taken a few more days was reduced to a mere 1 day of work, and it was all thanks to the Toymaker's new machines.

Taken back at his work, he gazed at his creation. He watched in fascination as an AGE fiddled with a few controls in a mini control room just outside of the drawbridge, and his creation began to lift itself with steam power. Gears, water, oil, and parts that Tazuna never heard of moved simultaneously as the bridge split into two as it lifted itself up.

His train of thoughts stopped as one of his workers ran towards him.

"Tazuna! Tazuna! There's been an attack on the town!"

"What? Where's the ninjas that I hired?"

"They're dealing with it! But we need reinforcements! It's nothing we've seen before!"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind, just gather the Ancient Gear things or whatever!"

* * *

 **[Outside of Tazuna's House]**

While the battle in the town was going on, two mercenaries were running through the forest, slashing anything that got in their way. A poor boar happened to be in their way. Thirsty for blood, the two of them sliced the animal mercilessly, and left it to suffer.

"That's the house." One of the mercenaries said, scratching at his eyepatch.

"Any sign of ninjas or other guards?" His silver haired partner asked.

"None I can see with my one eye."

"You're hilarious."

And with that, they slashed open a wall with their katanas.

As expected, they heard a shout of fear from the hot lady. What was unexpected, however, was the sight of a big, muscular man in dirty clothing and a metal pyramid for a head. They also didn't expect the giant sword that cleaved through their bodies.

"AAARGH!" They both shouted as their bisected bodies fell onto the floor. The silver haired mercenary died instantly, the sword cutting through his heart and lungs. The light brown haired mercenary wasn't so lucky.

Unimaginable pain shot through what was left of his body as he saw his own entrails spilling out of his upper and lower body. Using what little strength he had left, he tried to crawl away, abandoning his sword.

More pain flooded through his body as the monster stepped on his exposed spine, crushing it. Unable to hold it in, he screamed in agony as tears poured down his one good eye.

And suddenly he couldn't see anymore. With a chill, he realized that the monster had grabbed the roof of his mouth with his muscular, dirty arm, blocking his eye. He felt another hand grabbing the bottom of his mouth, and his final wish was for it to be over quickly.

* * *

 **[Wave Town]**

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" A fisherman screamed as he was gunned down by plasma bolts. Seconds later, troops of Battle Droids uncaringly marched over his and countless other bodies, flesh and metal. Gunfire and blaster fire rang all over the town, destroying, deactivating, and killing anything that stood in its way.

 **"Eliminated."** A battle droid said, before suddenly having its head blown off by gunfire. Disregarding its fallen member, the army of alien droids marched on, continuing to destroy everything in its path.

Civilians, children, and the Ancient Gear held their ground, working together to defend the town.

"What the hell are these things?" Kakashi asked an AGS as he snapped the neck of a "Battle Droid", as they called it.

 **"If our intel is correct,"** The mechanical soldier answered as it dodged a red plasma bolt. **"These are the new battle droids that Gatō has ordered."**

"From Naruto?"

It could've been his imagination, but the Ancient Gear seemed to give him a look of disbelief, despite it being nearly faceless.

 **"If our intel is correct, a man named Ausar the Vile has made the offer to the crimelord."**

"Who is-"

Kakashi's words were interrupted when the AGS was hit by the laser blast. Stumbling back, it fell out of cover, and it was soon assaulted by more laser blasts, deactivating it.

 **"We shall explain later."** Another AGS said, stepping in to take its fallen comrade's place. Unlike its fallen brethren, this AGS had a red, two inch long, vertical stripe on its chest, over the "heart". **"Right now, it is the time to fight."**

"R-right." He nodded. Just then, a townsperson approached Kakashi from behind, holding a piece of a table as a shield, and a stolen blaster from a fallen battle droid.

"Mr. Kakashi! Metal man! Gatō and his new metal men are attacking the bridge!"

At this, the AGS tapped on the side of its head, and an antennae rose out of its shoulder.

" **All units fall back and defend the bridge. The bridge and the factory must not be destroyed. Take all civilians willing to fight. 100% destruction of the bridge and factory is a failure!"**

 **"Sir yes sir!"** All of the Ancient Gears said in union.

"But, what about the town?" The townsman asked. The Captain appeared to roll its glowing eye.

 **"I assume you have not heard me. All is lost if the bridge and the factory is gone. Besides,"** The Captain looked over at the burning town, which was quickly being destroyed now that the futile attempt to save it has stopped. **"There's nothing worth saving anymore. It needs to be rebuilt."**

The townsperson and Kakashi looked at the burning town, and realized that he-it-whatever, was right. Grudgingly, they turned and left, determined to save the bridge.

* * *

 **[Tazuna's House]**

Even though his mother tried to get her son to look away, Inari stared at the carnage before them. The Pyramid-headed demon was in the process of cleaning up the mess, throwing away the bodies in a bag and mopping the floor.

Surprisingly, this didn't disturb Inari as much as it should've. Then again, the literal Hell that he went through not too long ago must've numbed him to a point. Or maybe it was just shock.

Either way, it got the young boy thinking. He thought about everything he went through, everything he lost. Everything he had. Everything he still had.

He then began to think about his mother. His grandpa. And Kaiza. How they continued to move on, even through everything. How Kaiza, he fought for their town till the very end. And suddenly, he didn't feel sad anymore. He didn't feel bitter.

A match was struck within his soul. An old fire that was long extinguished was beginning with roar with life. His fists clenched, as now anger began to fill his veins. He began to grow angry. Angry at Gatō, for taking his father away. Angry at Gatō for bullying his family. Angry at Gatō for destroying their town. And finally, angry at himself, for being foolish.

Wordlessly, he began to walk towards the closet, grabbing the attention of both his mother and the demon.

"Inari?"

The young boy didn't say anything as he rummaging through his closet. He came back out with a helmet and a crossbow.

"I'm going to fight, Mom." He declared, making Tsunami's eyes widen.

"B-but wait! You're just a little boy!"

"...I might be little." He said, smiling weakly at his mother. "But I know how to fight. Cause I'm my Daddy's son!"

And with that, he opened his door, to be greeted by the sight of the townspeople and the Ancient Gears.

"You coming?" Kaito, one of his elder neighbors, asked.

Inari smile grew.

* * *

 **[The Bridge]**

"Well," Deathstroke sighed. "This was disappointing."

He got up from a fallen battle droid that he was sitting on. He gazed at the damaged bridge, craters still smoking. An AGS's head twitched, before it finally deactivated. A battle droid was groaning, a part of its head destroyed by gunfire.

"W-wait!" It pleaded, before it was decapitated by Deathstroke's ninjato in a single stroke.

Perhaps Gatō's fleshy goons would provide more entertainment. He wondered. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a familiar presence, followed by a mist engulfing the bridge.

"I see you've been quite busy." Zabuza said, his voice echoing around him.

"Indeed I have." Deathstroke then jumped up, barely dodging a deadly swing. His feet connected with a pole, and with a chakra enhanced jump, dodged another swing from Kubikiribōchō.

"I see you've fixed your blade." Deathstroke commented. "Who's the poor bloke that fed it?"

"Correction, blokes." Zabuza said, his expression unreadable under his bandages. "And they were already dead when I found them."

"So who killed them?" Deathstroke asked, throwing a Tesla grenade.

"If I"m not wrong," Zabuza jumped out of the way, throwing some shuriken at the orange assassin. "I'd say it's Gatō's new battle droids that did the job. Guess he figured he didn't need them anymore, now that he's got me and his new toys."

Deathstroke deflected the shurikens with his small sword, before he pulled out his pistol.

POW POW POW POW!

Zabuza's sword blocked the bullets, while Deathstroke aimed his right arm at the assassin.

FWOOOM!

A burst of fire flew out of his mechanical vambrace, and Zabuza's eyes widened as the flames consumed him.

"Toasty." Deathstroke commented, and he sheathed his ninjato. His eyes narrowing behind the visor, his right hand glowed, seals unlocking, until Ribbon materialized into his hand. He spun around, and his blade clashed against Zabuza's blade.

The Water Clone collapsed behind him, and the real Zabuza in front of him smirked, before pulling his sword back. With deadly speed, he swung his cleaver, his sword clashing against Ribbon. Sparks, metal, and wind scattered as each deadly blow struck one another, the two warriors locked in battle.

Zabuza roared as he swung Kubikiribōchō, intending to decapitate his foe. Deathstroke leapt back, the sword taking out a light post instead. Zabuza's eyes widened as Deathstroke pulled out his pistol. He quickly sank the sword into the floor, before quickly flipping through hand signs.

Mist began to fill their environment, and before long, Deathstroke's bullets stopped hitting blood metal.

 _Time to test IT out._ Deathstroke thought, tapping the right side of his helmet. His rangefinder lowered itself, and it began to scan the area.

"Relying on your toys to save you?" Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the bridge.

"Nah," Deathstroke replied. "Just field testing."

He then threw some shuriken to his left, and the sound of flesh and metal being hit reached his ears. He then fired two rounds behind him, and the same sound echoed. He then ducked, barely dodging a flying sword, before he grabbed Kubikiribōchō, flinging it back to its user.

THUNK!

The thrown sword sank into a pillar, which was retrieved by its master.

"Impressive." Zabuza said. "When I take your head off, I think I'll take the helmet as well."

"Shocking."

Zabuza's eyes widened at this, and he looked at his sword. To his horror, a Tesla grenade was attached to it.

KRRTZZZZZ!

The bomb exploded, sending arcs of electricity everywhere. He screamed as he was again fried by the grenade, and he collapsed, his sword still crackling with electricity.

"You fought well," Deathstroke said. "For a water clone."

The said water clone grinned, its body slowly dripping with water.

"Tell me, what was your purpose for fighting me with only clones?"

"Figure it out, brain boy." And with that, the final clone died, the body and the sword melting into a puddle.

 _Let's see, 20 battle droids that any C ranked ninja can beat up, with about 5 water clones, one of them being the strongest...oh shit._

Realizing that their battle was a diversion, he activated his jetpack, and flew towards Kakashi. He didn't had to go very far, as he heard the battle before he saw it. Gunfire, blaster fire, screams, and smoke filled the air as Ancient Gear, people, ninjas, and Battle Droids alike were fighting to death.

Good thing the ninjas were fighting in a separate place, otherwise the battle would've gotten more complicated.

 _Interesting._ Deathstroke thought as he examined the scene from above. From what he saw, Sakura was "defending" the bridge builder, Kakashi was dealing with Zabuza, and Sasuke and Dr. Cipherous was battling Haku in what appeared to be a dome of ice mirrors.

 _Shall I intervene?_ He wondered, landed on a tree nearby. _...Nah. Let's just see where this goes._

And with that, the lone Mandalorian sat on the branch, taking care to record the battle.

* * *

 **[Haku vs Sasuke Uchiha and Dr. Cipherous]**

"Young lady," The steampunk doctor pleaded, deflecting senbon with two scalpels. "I beg you to reconsider. This battle is pointless, and we can both walk away from this without unnecessary bloodshed."

The kunoichi didn't answer, her body a blur to the untrained eye. Sasuke yelped as a few senbon managed to dig into his skin.

"I'm sorry, kind doctor." Haku replied under her hunter-nin mask. "But I must fight for who is precious to me. I must fight to support his dream."

"And what about your dreams? What would happen if Zabuza were to pass away? Would you go with him?"

The descendant of the Yuki clan said nothing. She was either ignoring his words, or doing the opposite.

"Rrgh." Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. "Why are you talking to her? She's our enemy! We need to defeat her!"

"If I can befriend my enemy, I have defeated her, have I not?" Sasuke said nothing, his frustration growing bigger. "Besides, the best victory is the one with the least bloodshed. I, for one, do not enjoy fighting."

"Then why the hell are you here?"

"Because I do not enjoy fighting, I yearn to end it, one way or another."

Sasuke was going to say more, but had to leap to the side when Haku nearly skewed his face as she dashed toward him.

Undeterred, Haku kept on zipping through the mirrors, flinging senbon and occasionally kunai at the two males. Haku began to notice that Sasuke's movements were becoming more deliberate as he was dodging the projectiles, instinct turning to skill.

Suddenly, Sasuke's hand blurred through the air as his fist made contact with Haku's face, sending her flying back with a "oof!"

 _What happened?_ Sasuke wondered. _I suddenly got a lot faster, and was able to see Haku better!_

Dr. Cipherous looked at Sasuke, or rather, his eyes.

"Congratulations." He said. "Your eyes have finally awakened."

 _Those eyes! It can't be!_ Haku realized. _The legendary Sharingan!_

"...I see." She finally said. "You too, share the legacy of a kekkei genkai bloodline."

 _An amazing boy...a prodigy...still in the fledgling stages.._ Haku thought. _To find that ability within himself and force it to awaken, untutored, in the heat of battle! I can't let this fight go on!_

Haku's eyes turned towards the doctor, and flung a senbon at him.

"AH!" The doctor cried out, and he fell to his knee, the senbon hitting a part of his left knee. The kunoichi had found a weak point in his armor, and the doctor became distracted. Haku then dove at the doctor, senbon in her hands.

 _No!_ Sasuke thought, running to intercept the kunoichi.

* * *

 **[Kakashi vs Zabuza]**

"Rrgh," Kakashi grunted, his chest been clashed by Zabuza's cleaver.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said, worried.

"You were slow on your guard, Kakashi!" Zabuza mocked. "Your desire to save those brats caused the blood to rise to your head, obscuring your thoughts and vision as surely as the fog I've created does!"

Kakashi said nothing in return, glaring at the missing-nin.

"...even with your special eye and the formidable skills it comes with, you will never beat me!"

KRRTZZZ!

Zabuza suddenly screamed as his body was bent in an unnatural angle. Electricity ran through his body as something hit him from the side.

"Figured you could use a little help." Deathstroke flew down, his electric rifle still crackling.

"You...again?" Zabuza huffed, recovering from the surprise attack.

"You ran out of our duel. Therefore, I'm taking you back in. And now," He he replaced his weapon with his ninjato blade, the blade gleaming. "We end this."

The two deadly ninjas dashed at each other, and Zabuza, due to his literal shock, was barely able to block the much smaller blade with his huge sword.

With deadly speed and aggression, the orange mercenary was becoming too much for Zabuza. Zabuza could only block Deathstroke's assaults. Sparks, metal flew into the air, both blades slowly become damaged from the assault.

"AGH!" Zabuza roared, relinquishing his sword. When he looked at the hand he was clutching, he realized that his fingers were almost severed. The damned leaf ninja suddenly struck at his hand, and he began to realize that he fell into his trap! With him stunned, the orange ninja was able to get close enough where he couldn't attack him, and thus, he was forced to defend himself. He foolishly forgot, though, that defending yourself with a giant cleaver often leaves your hand exposed, and the damned Uzumaki took advantage of that.

"Yield." Zabuza's eyes widened as he saw Deathstroke aiming a pistol at him.

"...never." Zabuza closed his eyes.

Deathstroke pulled the trigger.

* * *

 **[5 minutes previous]**

Sasuke stared blankly at the steampunk doctor, before collapsing, senbons in his neck. His eyes closed quickly, life fading from his eyes. The doctor looked at the Last Uchiha with interest.

"...you didn't kill him." Dr. Cipherous commented, yanking the senbon out of his knee. The doctor groaned as he placed his hand over his wound, and green chakra glowed from his palms. Within a second, the doctor stood up without any problems. "Why?"

Even with her mask on, Haku looked ashamed.

"I guess even all this time, I'm still too weak." She murmured sadly. "I could barely keep up with you, even when you held back."

"Kindness is not a weakness." Dr. Cipherous argued. "It is a virtue. A virtue that not many exercise these days."

"Nonetheless, my kindness cannot serve Zabuza." And with that, Haku got on her knees. "Therefore, I am no longer useful to him. Please, take my life."

Dr. Cipherous said nothing, the sound of gears and electricity filling the air. A stream of air hissed out of his respirator, the gas mask glowing with each breath.

"...very well."

A syringe slid out of his wrist. Grabbing the barrel in a reverse-grip, he charged at the medic-assassin.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open, and she grabbed the doctor's arm.

"No, not yet!" She exclaimed. She raised her hand with a tiger-seal sign, then vanished.

 _...where?_ The doctor questioned, before his eyes widened.

"...oh no."

* * *

 **[Deathstroke vs Zabuza]**

Deathstroke pulled the trigger. Years of training kicked in, despite his heart beating. He checked which direction Zabuza might go when the trigger launches the bullet. He remembered to control his breathing, in spite of adrenaline pulsing through his veins. His breath was halfway gone when he finally squeezed the trigger.

POW!

The pistol fired, gunpowder exploding within the chamber, launching the bullet.

SNK!

The small, metal bullet sank into Zabuza's flesh.

Wait… Naruto's eyes widened underneath his visor. The bullet didn't hit Zabuza. No, it hit Haku!

Immediately, dozens of scenarios were being calculated into his head as he tried to figure out how Haku got there so fast. Then his eyes moved to the left.

A mirror of ice. Oh.

Haku's eyes widened underneath her mask, despite knowing that Death would claim her. She looked down at her left breast as a spot of blood slowly grew in size on where her heart should be. She gave a final, sad smile as she fell backwards into Zabuza's arms.

"..." Everyone grew silent in shock.

PUFF!

Everyone flinched as the Mandalorian armor vanished in a puff of smoke, and Naruto the Toymaker returned, his cane replacing his sword.

"...HA HA HA!" Zabuza laughed, although Naruto and Kakashi can tell it was forced. "What a wonderful tool I picked up! She died in my place, and now-"

POW!

Everyone nearly jumped out of their skin as Naruto pulled out a revolver and fired it at Zabuza. He thought he missed completely until he realized that his left cheek was bleeding.

"Shut up." The steampunk ninja snorted. "I know you don't mean it. Besides, you've lost, in more ways than one. And also, do you seriously think that Gatō would pay you even if you somehow completed your mission. Look at you, you can barely fight back."

"He's right you know."

Everyone turned towards the factory, and to their horror, found 40 more battle droids outside of it. One of them was holding something in its hand, which made a blue holographic projection of the midget.

"Zabuza, Zabuza, what a disappointment. To think that even with my new reinforcements, you couldn't beat a group of teens. Ah well, looks like you can't do much anyways, so might as well dispose of you too."

Zabuza growled at this.

"But enough talk." Gatō chuckled. "Droids, kill them all!" And with that, the hologram disappeared.

 **"Open fire!"** The leader of the droids commanded.

"Take cover!" Kakashi shouted, and they all ran for the trees. Zabuza glanced at Haku's body for a second, before Dr. Cipherous picked her up.

"I got her, go!"

Zabuza nodded gratefully, before lifting his sword with difficulty. He winced every time the sword took a hit, hearing the metal becoming damaged.

"What's the plan?!" Sakura asked in panic.

Naruto pointed at the factory.

"As long as that thing's still standing, more will be on its way. We're going to have to get past the droids and disable the factory."

"NO!" Sakura shrieked suddenly, which made everyone look. "SASUKE!"

She saw Sasuke's lifeless body, which was being gently laid down by the medic.

"Relax, young lady." The doctor said. "Haku just put him in the same death-like state she put Zabuza in. He should wake up soon."

And with that, he yanked out the last senbon.

"OW!" The Last Uchiha sat up with lightning-speed, grabbing onto his neck.

"SASUKE!" Sakura nearly sobbed as she grabbed onto the injured boy.

"Enough of that." Cipherous scolded, lightly slapping the girl's hands. "Listen to your superior while I tend to Zabuza and Haku."

While the medic did just that, Naruto began to explain his plan.

"Kakashi, you, Sasuke, and Sakura all lead in distracting the main army. I'll solo this and take out the factory myself."

"...ok." His team said.

Naruto raised his eyebrows at how accepting they were of the plan, but didn't think anything else of it.

"Toodles."

And with that, he seemingly disintegrated, vanishing from his current spot.

"...let's ask about that later." Kakashi said. They all nodded, before they turned towards the civilians.

* * *

20 ags, 20 age (beginning) - 40 ags, 25 age (before battle) - 30 ags, 20 age (battle in town) - 20 ags, 13 age (battle with water clone) - 20 ags, 13 age (final battle)

0 b1 battle droid (beginning) - 60 battle droid (before battle) - 60 battle droid (battle in town, 80 at first, 20 destroyed) - 35 battle droid (battle with water clone) - 75 battle droid (final battle)

Ancient Gear - Yugioh

AGD = Ancient Gear Drill

AGE = Ancient Gear Engineer

AGF = Ancient Gear Factory

AGS = Ancient Gear Soldier

Angela Blanc - Black Butler

Ash Landers - Black Butler

Battle Droid - Star Wars

Clone - Atelier Escha & Logy

Cenobites - Hellraiser

Doll - Bloodborne

Lament Configuration - Hellraiser

Metal Pyramid - ?

Pyramid Head - Silent Hill

Red Man - ?

Ribbon - Infinity Blade 3

Tesla Grenade - Warehouse 13

Ancient Gear Rank (vertical stripes)

(No stripes): Private

Red: Captain

Dr. Cipherous:  art/Dr-Cipherous-Arcane-steampunk-plague-doctor-540223521

Naruto's Armor:  art/Deathstroke-the-Mandalorian-415032481


	11. (under reconstruction)

My apologies for the lack of updates. High school and college has not been kind on me. I'm also juggling other stories at the moment. I also realized that there are some plot holes or something that I need to clean up, so this story will be under reconstruction.

My apologies, and thank you.


End file.
